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MH-260 Her Space Holiday - XOXO, Panda And The New Kid Revival  Putting some space between himself and the computer that has provided the basis for so much of his recent work, Marc Bianchi has taken the last two years to focus on what got him into music in the first place, writing connective songs and working out the layers of sound he hears in his head. The results are a new persona, XOXO, Panda, and the reinforcement of the feelings of personal and artistic freedom that drive his music. Loose and carefree arrangements of guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, shakers, glockenspiel, and drums lay the foundation for vocal storytelling sing-a-longs. XOXO, Panda And The New Kid Revival is a brilliant calling card for Her Space Holiday’s newly awakened alter-ego, and a watershed moment in his growth as a songwriter and performer. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Guitar pop songs that are as charming as they are simple - Rolling Stone / That he can switch up styles so frequently and make solid records says something special about Bianchi - Pop Matters / Melodies have that wonderful undefinable quality that makes you want to hear them over and over... Killer indie pop cuts - Babysue |
| Identity is a complex thing. The need to define ourselves drives us forward in so many ways there is a danger we forget who we are completely, defining ourselves by the smallest part of who we actually are. This is a lesson Marc Bianchi has recently learnt and this wonderful new album is the result. Ditching the electronica of the past, Her Space Holiday is discovering his former self with old-school songwriting. This is his New Kid Revival. Hailing from California, Her Space Holiday has been Marc Bianchi's solo project since 1996. A previous member of hardcore groups Indian Summer and Mohinder, Marc has released a hefty handful of electronica albums in the past 12 years. Moving from hardcore to electronica to, now, folk-pop is a significant step to say the least. However, having been picked up by MySpace as a featured band, it's starting to pay off. Akin to Conor Oberst doing the Eels on happy pills, this is toe-tapping, head nodding, shoulder swaying folk-pop fun. From first track, "New Kid Revival," Marc acknowledges his change of direction and is staunchly defiant: "Lets start the New Kid Revival / we'll make it up as we go along / and if they tell us that we're doing it wrong / we'll just turn up the sound / just turn up the sound of our songs" From here on themes of childhood innocence, hope, identity and love are explored in a mix of acoustic guitars, melodies, handclaps and tambourines. Lyrically Marc is clearly taking home philosophy 101. With songs full of contemplations, musings and reflections, he appears to be looking to bargain his peace with the world. Take 'The Day In Review' for an example, we are advised "If life is one big symphony / don't play your part too cautiously / let your fingers make mistakes / the crowd will love you for being brave". Against a backdrop of finger snaps and gentle picking this can be surprisingly life-affirming in a cold winter night. It won't exactly give Nietzsche a run for his money, but there's many a wise word in here that we may tend to forget. Musically, XOXO Panda and the New Kid Revival won't be grabbing you by the short and curlies, except to dance around in a big ol' barn. However, this isn't an album intent on breaking musical barriers, but a musical blog of someone doing some serious self-reflection and revolution. For this reason alone it is a treasure to listen to. - Supersweet |
