Holopaw

Item: Holopaw
Author: Tom Bastian

(2003)

Reviewed by Tom Bastian

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Label Sub PopDecapolisFebruary 2003

alternative country folk indie rock

Holopaw is a five-piece indie-country band from Gainesville, Florida. Playing together as Holopaw for the past three years this self-titled release is their first on Sub Pop Records. Holopaw is fronted by John Orth who is best known for his work with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock on the side project Ugly Casanova. Brock is credited for bringing Holopaw to the attention of Sub Pop Records.

When I first put Holopaw in I was a bit thrown off. Something with such a "country/folk" feel on Sub Pop? But then I thought about it a little more and with releases by Damien Jurado, Iron and Wine, and Rosie Thomas in their discography it's really not such an odd relationship after all. Overall Holopaw is a tough band to describe. Calling them an indie-country band may lead folks in a slightly wrong direction, although that's probably the best generic title that can be given. Incorporating electronic pulses with stripped down acoustic guitars, lap steel, bass, cello and keyboard, coupled with sweet melodies the songs come together to present a great southern influenced mid-tempo album.

The interesting thing about this release is that it's a pretty standard southern styled folk record in a band setting, yet they incorporate an interesting mix of electronics that only seem to help broaden the musical depth of the album. At first, thoughts of Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" may come to mind...yet Holopaw seem to take things in a different direction. John Orth's vocals are much different than Tweedy's cigarette laced crooning. Orth sings and he sings well (not that Tweedy doesn't, just different). Not only does Orth sound good, the vocals are written in a way that bring images that almost fit the style of music a bit too much. With lines such as: "She was feeling campfire-drowsy from watching the footage of Niagra Falls. He was feeling teacup-woozy from the slow spin of this bar...There are piney, piney woods. There are Greyhound stations. There are many ways to Ohio. There are trains that leap the banks of the mighty Mississippi. And there are just as many ways to Wyoming" and "You're steady losing that campfire glow. But, deep in the bunkhouse there's a spark. Shoulder the receiver and breathe and barely-there "hello". Words slide across the telephone wires...stutter under the crush of green water."

If the whole alt-country sound is your thing or if you are already a fan of the Ugly Casanova material you're going to want to give Holopaw a try. The Sub Pop website (www.subpop.com) has an MP3 of "Cinders" from the album up so go check that out. See what you think and if there's any interest you may want to pick this release up.

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