{"id":19980,"date":"2020-11-04T05:30:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T10:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=19980"},"modified":"2020-11-04T07:52:54","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T12:52:54","slug":"album-review-marshall-holland-paper-airplane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/04\/album-review-marshall-holland-paper-airplane\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Marshall Holland — Paper Airplane"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s a bit unnerving to realize that it has been six and a half years since I first heard Marshall Holland and the Etceteras<\/i>. As I noted at the time<\/a>, that album \u2013 despite its misleading title \u2013 is the work of one man. And it\u2019s a very good one, brilliantly displaying the finest pure pop influences in the context of original material.<\/p>\n

If Holland has made another album since then, it has slipped by me. Regardless, I welcomed receipt of Paper Airplane<\/i>, his latest release. Dispensing with the group trope, the new disc is another true solo work. Ten of the eleven songs are Holland originals, and the other cut is one written by co-producer Michael R. Brooks.<\/p>\n

On Paper Airplane<\/em>, Holland employs a slightly \u2013 but only slightly — harder edge; the opening track \u201cOur Fate\u201d channels the twin influences of another Marshall (Crenshaw)<\/a> and (very) early Elvis Costello; it has the impeccable melodic sense of the former coupled to that nervy energy of the latter. And the synth solo is nice touch. For \u201cThe Rain Comes,\u201d Holland is back on more familiar territory; it bears the mark of someone who has consumed his share of shimmering sunshine pop like Spanky and our Gang, Cowsills or (to pick a contemporary and related act) fellow Bay Area pop purveyors The Corner Laughers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Deft, subtle use of Mellotron (or samples thereof) adorns that track; Holland understands the way to use keyboard in a pop\/rock context without allowing them to overwhelm.<\/p>\n

The sweet and simple \u201cA Hand Holds a Bird\u201d strikes the bullseye, right between melancholy and romantic. \u201cWaiting for That Peace & Love\u201d is a minor pop masterpiece worthy of the Left Banke (with more<\/em> Mellotron). The tack piano that anchors the bouncy \u201cDon\u2019t Do It\u201d is a treat. And then Holland rocks out \u2013 in a manner only hinted at on \u201cOur Fate\u201d \u2013 with \u201cShe Buys a Dress (to Match with Her Pink Belt).\u201d Buzzing combo organ and a brief reggae breakdown will transport the listener back to \u201879. One gets the sense that if Holland wanted to craft an entire album of this kind of tune, he could. But then we already have This Year\u2019s Model<\/i>, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Checkin\u2019 Out\u201d is closer to AM pop of the early \u201870s, in the best way. With its thundering tympani and lovely acoustic strumming, it\u2019s a bit reminiscent of Explorers Club<\/a> (or at least parts of that band\u2019s aesthetic). The tune\u2019s subtle Leslie effect on the guitar is a delight as is its use of (yet more) Mellotron. And the dual lead guitar nails the mid-\u201970s vibe.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook Into My Eyes\u201d builds on the soft-pop foundation of \u201cA Hand Holds a Bird,\u201d with gentle, tinkling harpsichord textures and a soft-as-a-whisper lead vocal. \u201cWhatcha Gonna Do\u201d allows Holland to showcase his instrumental dexterity: the drums, guitars and bass are all superb, in service of a solid tune.<\/p>\n

Paper Airplane<\/i> comes in for a soft landing with \u201cA Dream Away,\u201d the kind of song that reminds cratediggers of Brian Wilson\u2019s productions for others. It has all of the qualities \u2013 well, except the rocking-out part \u2013 that make Marshall Holland special. Paper Airplane<\/i> is hereby shortlisted for my best of 2020 list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a bit unnerving to realize that it has been six and a half years since I first heard Marshall Holland and the Etceteras. As I noted at the time, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19981,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,51,62],"tags":[1413,1553],"class_list":["post-19980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-release","category-pop","category-rawk","tag-marshall-holland","tag-mystery-lawn-music","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19980"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19996,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19980\/revisions\/19996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}