Holly Henderson releases bewitching sophomore album ‘The Walls’
In her long-awaited second album, the singer-songwriter builds a progressive folk-pop epic from the fragments of her Brit-pop and classic influences.
Photo: Press
After the success of her first album Monday Green, Holly Henderson is back with her latest album, The Walls. A playful and earnest piece of work that sees her move away from her debut’s exciting rock guitar work and alternative pop anthems, to instead showcase a different side to her sound. In a more delicate tracklist, Henderson reassembles her Brit Pop and classic influences as a progressive folk-pop epic, taking us on a journey that is filled with introspection and elegant arrangements.
Recorded live in the English countryside, the album has the same pastoral, sun-soaked energy of its origins, with its acoustic instrumentation and organic sounds feeling extremely reminiscent of the many psych pop/folk tracks that were released in the late sixties and early seventies.
Henderson has truly mastered the craft of this genre, delightfully combining strong melodies with touches of rock, folk, and other-worldly electronic elements, to grow a playful set of arrangements that effortlessly reflect the album’s themes of home and belonging.
The tentative and selective moments that often occur naturally when recording live were also retained in the final album, creating a warm and intimate feel to each track, whilst also beautifully preserving those organic moments that make music so magical.
On top of this, the singer from Kent navigates huge vocal jumps with ease, and embraces complex rhythmic and tempo changes in songs like Head Full of Soil to engage and surprise the listener, without removing them from the daydream that is her sonic musings.
Her music often wanders into areas of intrigue through her ensnaring melodies, electronic additions and tempo changes that take the listener on well-paced journey through a medley of moods. Tracks like Wendy and Sleep Until October open the album with a bright, sunny feel, embracing many different instruments to create a fullness to her sound. Most notably, the playful trumpet solo in Sleep Until October adds life and bounce into the album’s optimistic beginning, just before the tone changes to one of reflection and liberation in You’re Crying.
The enchanting flute melody in Fight the Need then continues this thoughtful tone by emphasising the longing in the song’s lyrics, while the harmonies in Back After Sunrise glow amidst Henderson’s psych-pop instrumentation as she lyrically considers how we often look at our past with rose-tinted glasses.
The nostalgia that emerges from Druxy is completely intoxicating, and is actually quite hard to shake off once the track ends. There’s a real familiarity to the song, in its guitar riffs and drumbeats, yet Henderson cleverly keeps things interesting through several rhythmic changes that are hypnotising throughout.
Towards the end of the album, the tempo then slows considerably, but not in a way that disappoints, as The Walls and Weep Like a Willow bring the album to a cathartic end with weighty piano melodies. Lulling the listener into a trance with steady beats and deep tones, Henderson ties her finely crafted album up with a bow, leaving the listener bewitched in the best possible way.