****
Julia Holter’s uncompromising hybrid of
classical, pop and jazz isn't exactly noted for its immediacy or accessibility
– indeed, the LA-based CalArts graduate does little to dispel her reputation as
an avant-garde academic. She introduces ‘Lucette Stranded on the Island’ as “a
song about being cut adrift and alone on an island… imagine if you were alone
on island?” in an icy, apathetic drawl, casting a cool gaze over Southampton’s
Engine Rooms. A charming, intimate venue – where the occasional chink of
bottles at the bar is as audible as the musicians on stage – there is slight
bemusement at Holter’s existential musings. “Sucks to be you!” she adds dryly,
and perhaps a little self-consciously. But ‘Lucette Stranded’, apparently based on a minor character in the Colette novella Chance Acquaintances, proves
a lucid blur of spoken word, orchestral and choral; coasting, twisting and blossoming into the melancholic chorus: "Oh she's been marooned... can anybody help her?" Then the penultimate ‘Goddess
Eyes’ somehow channels Kate Bush's Kid A,
as does the 7-minute jazz-epic ‘Vasquez’. Make no mistake, this is pretty heavyweight stuff. But patience - as they say – is a
virtue, and beneath Holter’s high-brow surface lies a seemingly supernatural
force and gorgeous, potent melodies. Take ‘Silhouette’s
daydream-turned-nightmare: underpinned by Devin Hoff’s dancing double-bass, it
proves the perfect platform for Dina Maccabee’s ethereal yet tormented viola
and Holter’s haunting refrain: "He turned to me then looked away / A silhouette / A silhouette... still returns to me." It's a genuinely gripping, powerful moment. Curtain call ‘Sea Calls Me Home’ and ‘Everytime Boots’ flaunt
her skill for an infectious chorus, offset by the other-worldly ‘Vasquez’ and sorrowful
‘How Long?’. The bulk of the night’s set compromises songs from last year’s
acclaimed Have You in My Wilderness,
a record noted by critics for an accessibility and pop-sensibility missing from
previous records; much like St. Vincent’s eponymous album released a year
previously. But it proves a spellbinding set awash with enchanting vocals and
beautiful melodies – and when all’s said and done, what could be more
accessible than that?
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