Reviewed on Wednesday December 9
Newtown Social Club’s small, carpeted interior might not have been the best environment for Julia Holter’s expansive, ambient pop – an empty church would have been ideal – but her live set-up is so refined at this point that her beatific songs no doubt shine in whatever setting she finds herself, reinforcing Have You In My Wilderness as one of the albums of the year.
Marcus Whale opened with a set of Eastern-informed, dense synth bass cued from a computer, which is never too thrilling live. But what gave him an edge were the two drummers playing against the beat, jumping into different time signatures whenever they saw fit, using the drums more as melodic instruments rather than a rhythm section. They lent Whale’s material an element of unpredictability, and he showed potential.
With just keys, double bass, viola and drums, Julia Holter and her band deliver orchestral pop trances; baroque jams. Running through the majority of Have You In My Wilderness with some highlights from 2013’s Loud City Song peppered in, the songs are fleshed out live with the correct balance of a finely tuned band and improvisation, so the material’s overwhelming qualities on record – the climactic end to ‘Silhouette’, the inherent paranoia of ‘Horns Surrounding Me’ – intensify tenfold in a live setting.
Oddly, the poppiest turns on her new album – which have given her the most notice of her career so far – are the weakest live. Still charming, these songs come off rather quaint – the harpsichord on indie hits like ‘Feel You’ doesn’t sound too hot coming from a Nord keyboard.
It’s the dreamy, atmospheric stuff that works best. The final three songs – ‘Betsy On The Roof’, ‘Vasquez’ and ‘Have You In My Wilderness’ – highlighted best the immensely beautiful and incomprehensibly emotional qualities of her music. ‘Vasquez’ in particular had each band member go on long exploratory passages that worked with and against each other at the same time. Wave upon wave of sound coalesced, creating a thrilling mix of relaxation and uncertainty. Truly mesmerising.
