Material: Music by Holander is truly a glimpse into her colorful imagination. It is a creative space where art-pop narrates the story of her love life, sexual conquests and deepest insecurities. The allure of her dynamic live performances, racy lyrical content and defiant sense of humor undoubtedly contributed to the fact that she was able to enlist the services of several established record producers for her upcoming debut EP, Party of One. This release features “Boy Tears,” an alternative dance song about breaking hearts and loving every minute of it.
Musicianship: Holander often delivers heartfelt subject matter in a way that is very straightforward and unapologetic. In that sense, her persona while on stage is reminiscent of front-women like Alanis Morissette and Courtney Love in their early twenties. This edginess meshes quite well with her band of musicians and her songwriting. Holander wrote indie-electronica compositions like “Smoke” and “Satellite” with heavy usage of electro beats. So the ability of Josh Catalan, Matt Kuo and Jacob Guzman to transfer these edgy songs to an organic live music experience further displays their value to her live presentation.
Performance: The Los Angeles native performed nine songs as the closing act of CAPYAC’s residency show at the Echoplex. She began her energetic set with a series of spirited leg kicks, twirls and dance moves near her microphone stand. Holander was accompanied by three back-up musicians. But the most touching moment came when they left her on stage to perform a piano melody of “Call Your Girlfriend” and “Dancing On My Own,” two songs originally released by a recording artist from Sweden simply known as Robyn.
Summary: This show was an eclectic display of pop music, crowd engagement and shock value. Holander showcased her versatility by dancing, singing, playing the keyboard and rapping. Moments before her rendition of an original song called “Party of One,” she boldly declared that the track was about masturbation. And then...she howled in laughter. Genuine moments like that seemed to endear her to many of the live audience members. Especially the ones who sang along to her chorus lines. Not only was this performance a glimpse into Holander’s imagination, it was also a prelude to the future release of her first solo project.
Contact: [email protected]
Web: holandermusic.com
Players: Carly Hollander, vocals, keyboard; Josh Catalan, synth; Matt Kuo, synth bass; Jacob Guzman, drummer
