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MH-282 Holobody - Riverhood  Riverhood is the first release from Holobody, the sibling duo of Felix Green and Sea Oleena, two talented artists in their own right who’ve together crafted a masterpiece from elements of gospel, hip-hop, and electronically-propelled folk. Album opener “Unfold” is a sentimental soliloquy, and its seamless juxtaposition first into the playfully rapped “Hurricane Season” and then into the instrumental "Stomp Coda" sets the tone for the genre-hopping on the rest of Riverhood. Brother and sister trade vocal duties throughout the album. "Riverbed" is a beautiful hymn of death and rebirth with a chorus washed in reverb. Sounds seem to merge and collapse, until the listener paddles into the void and disappears. Other highlights are the hypnotically spiraling “Prelude” and the psychedelic closer “Acid Rain” with each song taking the album in a new and usually unexpected direction. Perhaps the most striking moment is the duo’s take on the traditional hymn “Down to the River and Pray,” which begins with reverent beauty before taking a sideways turn into percussive celebration and ambient experimentation. All of these pieces are drawn together on Riverhood into a whole that is lush, vibrant, and extraordinarily inviting. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Holobody’s Riverhood is going to fit perfectly, right between your M83 and Tennis albums. - Potholes In My Blog / Highly recommended. - Paper / Listen if you like: Her Space Holiday, Stereolab, Atlas Sound, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Suicide, Mazzy Star, The Flaming Lips, Toro Y Moi, Beach House, Radiohead, The Stone Roses. - Eastern Surf |
| Reviews |
| Holobody AKA Felix Green and Sea Oleena are a brother and sister duo embarking on their first album and they’ve made a brilliant start. One description bestowed on their music is “electronically-propelled folk” and there’s certainly a strong sense of futuristic production combined with traditional forms of songwriting on ‘Riverhood’. If originality is what is called for, Holobody hit the mark regularly. Right from the beginning, the Canadians’ gifts for unusual arrangements, meandering melodies and heavenly harmonies is there for all to see as a dreamy ‘Unfold’ segues into ‘Hurricane Season’ (which features, almost implausibly, some rapping from Oleena) and then an impressive instrumental ‘Stomp Coda’ to end the opening three-part suite. After this imaginative and ambitious opening, you could forgive the siblings for easing off but the idiosyncracies and invention continue to capture the listener’s attention. Their range extends from the cinematic melodrama of ‘Procession’, via the comparatively simplistic 1960′s-themed ‘Way The World Goes Round’ and haunted gospel of ‘Down To The River To Pray’, to ‘Acid Rain’s psychedelic finale. It’s always very encouraging that hitherto unknown acts can still produce such unusual and original music as this. ‘Riverhood’ is a frequently surprising and colourful record that further proves how experimental music can be approachable and involving. - Leonard's Lair |
