The Wisdom of Lonnie Holley, by Kurt Gottschalk

Singer and seer Lonnie Holley has a remarkable way of playing off of others while never seeming to quite change his act. The Alabama native first gained attention as a sculptor and visual artist working with found materials in what might be labeled “folk” or “outsider” idioms. He found his way into music and performance, first accompanying himself on a Casio keyboard and eventually working with other accompanists. Through it all, Holley has spoken a kind of unschooled wisdom that resonates so deeply it can be hard to face straight on.

Broken Mirror, A Selfie Reflection (CD, LP and download out April 9 on Spacebomb Records) has the biggest number of musicians to back Holley on record—eight of them in all, as opposed to his usual one or two, heavy on keyboards and effects and led by singer/songwriter Matthew E. White—making Holley’s biggest sounding record to date. He didn’t exactly work with the backing band, however. White made the backing tapes back in 2018, during a series of guided improvisations intended to shake up his own music. The recordings sat on a shelf until he played a gig with Holley in his Richmond hometown and the tapes found their destiny. The five tracks on the album (running from four to 10 minutes in length) are Holley’s first takes, improvising from his notebook, over the prerecorded tracks.

Holley fits White and company’s music like a hand in a glove. He clearly draws energy and inspiration from his collaborators, whether live or on tape. The lyrics, as always, are pleas for simplicity, for not relying too much on technology, for self-betterment and preserving the natural world, but Holley intuitively molds his texts to the ambling grooves of the band. The philosophies and truths are delivered in his same, slow drawl, floating above the music somewhere between a song and a prayer, but the music dictates the direction. As with his visual art, a lack of training doesn’t belie a deep, expressive sensibility.

Holley’s work might not be for everyone. It can feel directionless, even without melody. There’s repeated phrases but no real verse/chorus structure. It’s a shame that such things might keep people away, because while it might not be for everyone, everyone should hear it.

Author

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Comments are closed.

On Key

Related Posts

MUSIC: Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk

Apparitions of the Eternal Earth. On their monolithic 2022 debut, Eyes Like Predatory Wealth, the Houston, TX trio Apparitions set forth a slow burn with three tracks running, in sequence, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The fire has been spreading ever since. In 2023, they issued the digital-only Semel, with three poundingly untitled tracks, and this month comes Volcanic Reality (CD

Quinn on Books: “Lost in Love”

“Lost in Love”: Review of “Horse Crazy,” by Gary Indiana, introduction by Tobi Haslett,   Reviewed by Michael Quinn Years ago, I fell for a recovering drug addict. I met him at a funeral for a man we had both been involved with. When he caught me looking, he smiled—a slow, disarming gesture that made my heart thump like a

The Impact of 9,000 New Apartments on Red Hook: A Community’s Concerns

I’ve been trying to calculate how many new apartment buildings are needed to accommodate the 7,000 to 9,000 housing units the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) wants to add to our neighborhood to help pay for the redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, the 122-acre strip of waterfront extending from our neighborhood, through the Columbia Waterfront District, to Atlantic Avenue.