Album Review: Julia Holter - Have You In My Wilderness
By Sarah Weingarten, Staff Writer
[Domino; 2015]
Rating: 3/5
Key Tracks: “Feel You,” “Sea Calls Me Home,” “Night Song”
Julia Holter’s Have You In My Wilderness gives pop music a serious side. The genre of pop scares listeners who avoid mainstream music, but they should trust Holter. Her vocals are poignant with a depressive drawl. The lyrics swirl in your ears.
“Feel You” is the best song on the album. The lyrics have a double meaning; they can be taken literally but underneath the surface have a deep, emotional meaning. “Can I feel you? / Are you mythological? / Figures pass so quickly / That I realize my eyes know very well / It’s impossible to see / Who I’m waiting for in my raincoat.”
Near the end of the song, Holter has a speaking part. It’s very unnecessary and breaks up the rhythm. “Feel You” should have just ended with a wispy fade of Holter’s background vocals.
“Sea Calls Me Home” is the most up tempo Holter gets. Sad dreamy pop is a growing niche genre and definitely needs to be, but Holter does up tempo gloom so well. It’s a very kitschy song about her love for the sea but how she can’t swim. The small whistling and saxophone parts really give it an edge.
The production level of Have You In My Wilderness is unreal. The multiple instrumental and vocal layers are mixed seamlessly together. Holter is masterfully crafting a name for herself. There are some tweaks and adjustments that need to be made from the editing perspective. No one can pull off speaking parts within songs, but Have You In My Wilderness doesn’t disappoint. It’s a cohesive and strong album that should push Holter into more limelight and music libraries.
