Celebrated LA-based composer Julia Holter’s final outing, 2018’s 90-minute Aviary, tried to breed the cognitive dissonance of dwelling in latest instances, harnessing medieval Occitan, bagpipes and a polyphony of different devices to seize the restlessness of the thoughts. Six years on, One thing within the Room She Strikes is not any much less bold in its intent – to encapsulate presence and transformation – however feels extra approachable. Magnificence, relatively than overstimulation, is foregrounded, with flutes and Holter’s personal silken voice establishing airiness all through these 10 tracks. The pandemic, new motherhood and the dying of her younger nephew are the contexts for this new work, which remixes a Beatles title to stress feminine company.
Tracks comparable to Solar Lady affirm that Holter hasn’t completely allotted with pop, a expertise evident on 2015’s Have You in My Wilderness. However right here, the melodics are blithe and woozy, with Solar Lady recalling the mantric, Twenty first-century psychedelia of Animal Collective, and Spinning combining hydraulic beats and jazz flute with a refrain that tries however fails to nail down the ineffable. A plethora of discovered sounds and jazz inflections maintain every little thing compelling. However the hovering, sustained and gliding components miss the courageous sensory overload of Aviary and the pop nous of Wilderness. The most effective monitor is the only: Meyou, a warped, minimal vocal meditation.
