Despite this 28-year-old’s adept abilities in making quality records from her very own bedroom, it must be exceedingly gratifying for a musician with a degree in composition to be able to break down those walls and actually achieve her vision with input from an ensemble of musicians.
While 2011’s Tragedy and its follow up a year later, Ekstasis, lean heavily on electronic textures Loud City Song is less reliant on synths than it is an assortment of classical instruments.
But that doesn’t exactly mean Holter’s third studio album is anymore grounded than its predecessors. Yes it may be slightly more organic, but the musician’s experimentalism is no less apparent than it was before.
The flurry of horns on the almost off kilter ‘Maxim’s I’ and ‘II’ proves as such, while her vocal variations throughout the album also signifies just how talented Holter is as a singer.
How many vocalists can change their tone from hushed to ostentatious on a whim (see ‘Maxim’s II’) and still retain their ability to effectively communicate on a record?
While Holter’s vocals – and the record on a whole- may at times sound disconcerting, few could argue against her exquisite take on Barbara Lewis’ ‘Hello Stranger’. The singer finds new meaning in a new context in the same manner that James Blake achieved on his cover of Feist’s ‘Limit To Your Love’.
However the indication that Holter can be utterly captivating on Loud City Song is hardly surprising given her past work.
It’s Holter’s ability to find lyrical inspiration in other forms of art and repurpose it for a new concept that is one of her most interesting attributes.
Much like Tragedy’s take on the ancient Greek play, Hippolytus, Loud City Song find itself, for the most part, interpreting the events of the 1958 MGM musical Gigi.
Her analysis of this story could also be a microcosm for the celebrity culture that afflicts today’s world. ‘Horns Surroundings Me’ has its characters fleeing from the paparazzi as humanised by outdoor sound bites.
“How can I escape you?” asks Holter on the spacious opening track, World.
While many find indulging in the excess of the rich and famous as a form of escapism, Loud City Song is an intelligent alternate universe that the rest won’t have any trouble finding solace in.
Whether it reaches the level of ‘masterpiece’ is a moot point best addressed after a period of ageing, but undeniably it’s frighteningly close to being remembered as such.
And few could argue that this wouldn’t be deservedly so.
