Loud City Song

Mesmerizing

Gorgeous music. She just needs to do something about the fact that it always sounds like she has too much spit in her mouth. It's a thing nowadays…. intimate female vocals with spitty consonants. Really, trust me. Listen to Julia Holter and other bands like Phantogram. Ladies! Stop it! Get a drink of water and swallow.

For many of us, the entry point to Julia Holter's work was Exstasis. Because her work is so difficult to compare to most of what else is out there, it is tempting to first compare to Exstasis. So I will… Exstasis is full of quirky twists and beguiling complexity. It rarely allows the listener a moment to rest in a particular sonic space - which is good and lends itself to multiple listens without the utter boredom typical of most indie music... In contrast, with Loud City Song, the moods are lengthy and compositional complexity less in the linear/structure domain than in the evolving texture of sounds. And what sounds they are. With Exstasis you could almost feel the home craft vibe but here the production is up several notches and feels robust and professional. Lots of actual instruments here rather than samples and sequencers. Lyrically, the world bubbling below Loud City Song is more accessible, full of the sounds, observations, and reveries of urban life that seem romantic and timeless. After three months with Exstasis I thought, Julia Holter will record a great record someday. At six months I thought, wait - she already HAS. With Loud City Song, I think it's fair to say she has recorded two great records.

Really enjoying the emotional intimancy of this album. It is beautiful. Love the way she pronounces certain words and sounds. Very interesting.