Holly Miranda – The Magician’s Private Library
by Matthew James on February 23rd, 2010
Holly Miranda – The Magician’s Private Library
February 23rd, 2010
XL Recordings
Score: 8.4
Ever since my ears first heard the eerie yet beautiful voice of Holly Miranda while she was fronting the New York group The Jealous Girlfriends a few years back, I have followed her progress with keen interest. So the release of Miranda’s debut solo full length album is something I have been looking forward to for some time. While The Jealous Girlfriends provided a platform and some great moments of experimental indie rock, out on her own (with a little help from some friends), Holly Miranda is able to take her music and voice to another level on The Magician’s Private Library.
Last year, Miranda released the Sleep On Fire EP that contained some sketches of songs that have ended up here in new form. The quite brilliant ‘Everytime I Go To Sleep’ remains untouched from the EP but ‘Joints’ and ‘Sleep On Fire’ have been reworked into much greater visions. Musically, it’s impossible to say exactly where this album is going to fit. There are touches of traditional guitar-based indie-rock that become completely invigorated by the introduction of strings, brass, and moody electronic synth effects. Moods swing from elation to desperation with the carefully crafted vocal structure and harmonies leading you away into the unknown. Dreamlike and surreal yet grounded by the fragile emotion of Miranda’s touching lyrics, it’s a record that is both mesmerizing and comforting.
‘Forest Green, Oh Forest Green’ is a bright opening but it’s the combination of ‘Joints’ and ‘Waves’ that really gets things going. The spooky, almost haunted sound of Miranda’s voice on ‘Joints’ is chilling as it climbs from atmospheric background noise into an empowering, seductive brass-led giant of a tune. A soothing balance is met with ‘Waves’ as Miranda brings things back to a sense of warmth. The shimmering cymbals create the impression of waves crashing against the shore as the song builds into a triumphant, transcendental piece of magic. There’s a vengeful, darker spirit riding through the scorning sounds of ‘No One Is Just’ that is countered by the horn-filled, soulful, smile-inducing ‘Sweet Dreams’.
As mentioned, ‘Everytime I Go To Sleep’ sounds as fantastic today as it did when it first emerged last year. Think Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ meets Broken Social Scene’s ‘Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl’ with some Beach Boys’ ‘In My Room’ and you’ll be somewhere near but it’s a song that deserves its own recognition. ‘Canvas’ creeps into the moodier floating dreamscape seen on Beach House’s Teen Dream and the closing ‘Sleep On Fire’ is a slightly more stripped down conclusion to the record. The song is everywhere, part indie-country-campfire singalong, part classical waltz. “There’s no place I’d want to wake up but beside you” sings Miranda — it’s a wondrous star-filled night sky of love and desire.
The Magician’s Private Library is certainly a mind-bending affair that takes the listener on an unraveling journey of both the familiar and the unknown. It’s almost as if Miranda has waited for the right moment to emerge from the cluttered New York scene as there is every chance she could have done so a few years back with The Jealous Girlfriends. By waiting for the right deal, the right songs, and the right producer (TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek), and helped along by the increasing buzz on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s finally time for Miranda to reveal herself to the larger audience she is worthy of. This record’s originality and execution should be held in high regard and as an artist still getting comfortable with going solo, you can’t help but think that there may even be better to come in time. The door to The Magician’s Private Library is open to the public and I suggest you take a look inside.
Matthew James
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