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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 |
| Marc Bianchi is proof that, yes, there is life after emo. And though Bianchi crossed-over genres ten years ago, his nostalgia for things emo[tional] has unexpectedly resurfaced. Under the moniker Her Space Holiday, Bianchi established himself as a hardcore-kid-turned-indietronic soundmaker. With his sixth full-length album, XOXO, Panda and the New Kid Revival, comes a divergence from his defining brand of electro-infused indie-rock to unapologetic, cadenced pop. Bianchi's new direction allows him to explore some uncharted territory; channeling his inner love-struck teenager, he creates a fervently hopeful and infatuated alter-ego. A departure from 2005's melodramatic The Past Presents the Future and 2004's dreamy The Young Machines, XOXO strays from the ambience and spaciness of Her Space Holiday's previous works. In an attempt to reinvent, Bianchi abandons his reliable tech toys in favor of a stompy pop sound with folky undertones. Scrapping the computer-produced droning, he opts for guitar, banjo, mandolin, shakers, and glockenspiel in the album's full band arrangements. Bianchi shows his emo roots with his sometimes playful, sometimes cringe-inducing lyrics that gush with an uninhibited, childlike earnestness. Typically, an album with such overt preciousness and drippy sentiment would be rendered cheesy, too cutesy. But for the most part, XOXO offsets its heavy-handed adorableness with its self-aware disposition and "don't take yourself too seriously" sensibility. In a most uncomplicated way, Bianchi's lyrical focus is squared on conventional pop themes, namely boy-meets-girl, the newness and curiosity of relationships, the near actualization of love, et cetera. Bianchi has a grasp of the tipping point, of when to stop pushing before turning schmaltzy. He toes the line a few times, but not enough to discount his efforts - the slight distortion on "Two Tin" makes the chorus of "I love yous" seem tolerable. Between tra-la-la-ing and prompting others to "Sing out your joy/ raise up your voice," XOXO hints at the sunny surf-rock of the 1960s. While indie purists might resent Bianchi's one-eighty, it shouldn't be regarded as a betrayal, but rather as escapist fun. Much like Tilly and the Wall, a band that unabashedly stomps, claps, and tap-dances along to kid-friendly melodies, Her Space Holiday embraces the irony of intentionally producing innocent, syrupy sweet pop. His message comes through on the album's closer, "One for my Soul": "All that matters is we keep on dancing." Through the lens of cynical hipsterdom, this optimistic re-route may not be viable. It may also draw some well-earned grins, recognition that a return to a former time can be a good thing. - Lost At Sea |
