Jolie Holland
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
eo-traditionalist folk outfit Be Good Tanyas. She contributed to the Tanyas Blue Horse LP (Nettwerk, 2001) before moving back to San Francisco. There a series of solo demo recordings started making the rounds. Stark yet filled with imagery, Hollands work was folk in an American, Texas tradition, but accessed the fractured hope and gathered darkness of the countrys past in beautiful and affecting new ways. The buzz surrounding the demos grew and grew, with national mags lining up with applause and Tom Waits nominating Holland for the esteemed Shortlist music prize. All of this led to Antis signing Holland in August 2003; that November, the recordings were officially issued as Catalpa. In April 2004 Holland returned with her actual studio debut. Entitled Escondida, the LP was a skillful blend of lues, folk, gospel, and musky vocal jazz, and immediately established Holland as one of the nations most important young songwriters. It was followed in 2006 by the equally impressive Springtime Can Kill You.
