Melbourne’s most exciting new alt-folk talent Esther Holt has just recently shared her new EP Cat & Mouse and it’s a stunning collection of delicately crafted country tinged folk.
Having shared stages with impressive contemporaries like Courtney Barnett, Fraser A Gorman and Whitaker, Holt wrote this EP in her backyard shed as picked up a guitar as a new songwriting tool.
To celebrate the release of Cat & Mouse Holt has kindly given us a track by track run down of the EP which you can check out below. If you like what you’re hearing pop by Ester Holt’s Facebook page and don’t miss her show at The Toff this weekend, details below.
Seaside
The instrumental track of Seaside was recorded live in Tendertrap studios in Northcote with Lawrence Greenwood on acoustic guitar, Jesse Williams on banjo and myself on resonator guitar. It had a great feel in the room as we were doing it, and I really like the simplicity of it all, it makes me feel relaxed.
Heart & Nail
Heart & Nail came out of me playing around with different tunings. It rolls along, and I really like the production that Colin Leadbetter brought to it. It is probably also the song on the E.P that most gives away my country influences.
Bali
This song gains its title from the location of its birth. It was never meant to be called ‘Bali’ but after referring to it for over a year with that title, nothing else seemed right. Written in far north of the Island in a place called Pemuteran, surrounded by mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. The melody just got stuck in my head and it was written within half an hour. This song is about the craziness of the modern world, trying to relax and clear your mind.
Elle
This song is inspired by my friend Elle who left this world last year. It is the only song on the E.P that is stripped back with only guitar and vocals. I recorded this one myself in the shed of my Northcote house, with the intention that we would eventually re-record it for release, but the original version stuck, and I’m glad it did. I miss ya, El.
By Water
By Water is my first ever one chord song i’ve written, and one of the first songs I wrote on my new resonator guitar, which was instrumental in changing the songs and the style I was writing in. We had heaps of fun getting my parents to play strings and my cousin Nathan Holt to play horns, building up the impact of the chorus as much as possible so that (ideally) it smacks you over the head.
Cat & Mouse Launch
Sunday 6th December
The Toff in Town
Tickets and info www.thetoffintown.com
