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Reviews

Hollan Holmes — Sacred Spaces
(Spotted Peccary SPM-4403, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-01-18

Sacred Spaces Cover art

Much like an unfolding dream, Hollan Holmes’ third Spotted Peccary release makes use of transcendental sonic imagery to create otherworldly immersive soundscapes for a listener to get lost within. The eleven pieces utilize sequencers and arpeggiators along with hardware synthesizers and software tools to create bristling vignettes that open doors into new realms, full of colorful melodies, scintillating beauty and emotion that, while distinct from one another nonetheless take on a dreamlike quality when taken in as a whole. While the listener steeped in the history of electronic styles may at first hear similarities with Berlin School artists like Tangerine Dream and the late Klaus Schulze, there is an expansive nature to most of these pieces that push and pull emotively while the listener sinks into the whirlpool of sound until they are covered completely like a warm blanket on a starry night. Holmes makes excellent use of pulsating lower registers and mysterious percussive sounds in his overall approach to sculpting sound, while the compositions are evolutionary and unpredictable in a masterful way, all keeping the listener engaged at a high level. For those who are into the nuts and bolts, Holmes provides a full listing of the software and hardware he used to produce the album in the booklet (guest Bill Porter provides the guitar on "An Elevated Life"). Track titles like “Hallowed Ground,” “An Elevated Life,” “The Divine Connection,” “Order Out of Chaos,” and the title track go far to define the composer’s vision; the material herein is more of an earthbound and spiritual endeavor that some wild eyed space concept, and all eleven tracks are fully energized — you won’t catch yourself going to sleep while it plays. Sacred Places is definitely one of the more engaging electronic releases in recent memory.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Hollan Holmes

More info
http://hollan-holmes.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-places

 

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