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Album Details

• Artist: Jolie Holland
• Album: The Living And The Dead
• Label:
• Year of Release:
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2009-05-21

 

Gritty and Stones-y, with heartbreak and defiance in every line, Holland can sing the hell out of a sad ballad or a snotty rocker. "The Living And The Dead" puts to shame virtually everything you've heard that passes for country & country rock these days. With help from some heavyweight guitarists and psychic heroes, Jolie Holland has created a great record that will be hard for her to top.

Said axemen are M. Ward and Marc Ribot, two guitarists who are more known for more adventurous work. But then again, Ribot has worked with Tom Waits, who apparently has been a big influence on and supporter  of Holland.  

The fragile sense of loss on the haunting "Corrido Por Buddy" and "You Painted Yourself In" are backed and multi-tracked along side rockers like "Your Big Hands" and "The Future." Ward's filthy riffs on "Hands" are truly Keef-worthy.

Jolie Holland has been able to toss in a few jaw-droppers on all of her releases. But "The Living And The Dead" is saturated with confident, poetic gems that really point to a new fearlessness on top of a maturity in songwriting. She belongs in the company she has been keeping recently

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