mdb-006
White vinyl!
on this recording:
Laura Stevenson
Mike Campbell
Alex Billig
Chris Parker
Wen-Jay Ying
Michelle Young
Jeff Rosenstock
Recorded by Jeff Rosenstock. Drums recorded by Tom Malinowski at Roadside Records.
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There’s a moment during “Holy Ghost!” about two-thirds of the way through the song where Laura nets an unbearably serene moment. The song follows a simple progression, not unlike the minimal instrumentals accompanying it, but in a humble three minutes Stevenson manages to induce a whole army of spiderlike chills that run down your spine when the song hits a crescendo. The electricity that begins flowing through the song at this decisive crossroads in the song finds its way around, flows through your ears, and down your arms. Laura Stevenson, of musical collective Bomb the Music Industry! fame, captures exquisite moments like these galore on the short, lively, Holy Ghost! EP. Her means are simple: the violins, trumpets, percussion, and sinewy guitar lines are rarely used in excess. Yet, Laura packs enough splendor and soulcrushing emotion into a mere three songs than most bands fit into a full-length.
Let Laura take you in, make you a warm cup of tea, sit you by the fire, and astound you with her cozy, angelic voice. Not letting her punk roots show through much, Holy Ghost! is a warm affair, and is sure to evoke claims of “Where has this been all my life?!” as I’ve heard it do before. Each of the three songs are similar in fashion. Beginning like cold skeletons with a bony resonance and a bare guitar rhythm, Laura slowly breathes life into the entity with her sweet, mellifluous voice. You feel it start to come to life… stumble a little… sway to and fro. Then with precision and power, Laura seems to inspire life! into the piece, erupting in a mountain of fuzz, horns, and a sprawling amplification. “Holy Ghost!” displays this building exhilaration most beautifully. Laura’s comfortable, homey atmosphere on Holy Ghost! could induce a coma of serenity with her cherubic vocals and whimsical melodies, but hopefully you remain conscious to all the small complexities and subtleties throughout the fleeting entirety of the EP– you’ll be glad you did. – Sputnik Music
