1.5.08 |Review: Holler Wild Rose @ Luna Lounge: A New Sensation
It was roughly two months ago when I first discovered the soaring sounds of (KCRW-approved) Holler Wild Rose. After falling in love with their debut LP, Our Little Hymnal, instantaneously, I was beyond eager see if the band's passionate/potent tunes would translate well in a live setting. While probably better suited at Mercury Lounge, HWR overwhelmingly impressed me with their brief-yet-strapping set last night at Brooklyn's Luna Lounge. Following the adage of 'less talk, more rock', Holler Wild Rose stormed through about half of Hymnal with zeal, precision and arrant finesse. With countless young acts heavily influenced by early '90s shoegaze, it's inspiring to hear a band that can meticulously highlight the genre's brightest moments all the while adding a layer of richness that is entirely their own into the grand melting pot. Read NPR's radiant feature on the Jersey-based band here.http://musicslut.blogspot.com/2008/01/holler-wild-rose-luna-lounge.html
12.10.07 |ADVENTURES IN TWEED (UK)- Our Little Hymnal by Richard Brooke
The album opens with one simple word....'Holler!'
What follows is a bone crunching cacophony of noise. Guitars that sound like whole orchestra's, drums that punch you in the stomach before lifting you back to your feet. This band is a unit, a whole sound, not just the sum of its parts. To pick out any particular sound is a difficult procedure, the instruments are melded together, as if held by an invisible force. And this is all in the first minute of 'Our Little Hymnal', an album of intense highs and beautiful lows, uproarious noise and somber laments. Opener 'Holler, Wild Rose!' is a microcosm of the whole album, a massive cacophony followed by periods of calm. 'Marylawn Hair' is Jeff Buckley's 'Last Goodbye' covered by Loveless period My Bloody Valentine, guitars made to sound like violins and crashing drums hitting the vocal melody like waves caressing the shore. 'Mercy Beat' is a different animal entirely, a bluesy hymnal underpinned by rolling drums and vintage guitars. The quieter moments are beautiful, the range of vocalist John Mosloskie coming to the fore, the melodies permeating even the thickest skin. 'Captive Train' is much the same story, twisted blues with a heady, highly emotional feel.
There are heavy hearts on this record, but not from the usual, and ultimately casual, pain of minor heartbreak or everyday troubles, it's something altogether BIGGER. It's almost a national pain, a shared malaise that trickles through the music inspired by generations of other American musicians. From the communal pain relief of Gospel, to the disenfranchised anger of the Blues right up to the personal inner torment of Buckley and Cobain, music from the US has a shared heartache. Having said all this, don't make me paint this record as a morbid exercise in grief, it takes this feeling and magnifies it until it becomes uplifting, a celebration if you will. As the album rolls on, you get the feeling every note played counts and every word uttered means everything. The epic length of 'Poor In Spirit' should indicate some filler but the song's length only intensifies the tension and irregular structure, giving the song room to breath outside the limitations of the three minute pop song. There's room for experimentation, expression and ultimately beauty.
'Sun Vines' is what Cold War Kids would sound like if they had listened to more shoegaze records and less Robert Johnson. 'Thief In Our Bed' takes the tempo down with ghostly aplomb, creating in my mind a cinematic story of closeness breading contempt, lovers slowly torn apart by themselves and their own flaws. There's something unsettling yet comforting about the choral vocal, an otherworldly almost inhuman voice that glides effortlessly over the tumbling drums. Closer 'Promise Braid' is simply breathtaking, a mix of dub bass and delicate vocal fragments. The moments of near silence serving to highten the impact of the sustained notes that are seemingly eaked out of the band. It's a controlled end after a hectic start.
The sheer pomp and general epic size of this album could put the casual listener off, for those who like a touch of pomposity however it truly is a wonderful piece of work. 'Our Little Hymnal' takes a million different influences and condenses them into an hour long masterpiece, said influences only part of a tapestry not the whole story. If you love music with a touch of the epic this is the record for you. An album that is simple and elegant, yet powerful and primal at the same time.
http://adventuresintweed.blogspot.com/2007/11/holler-wild-rose-our-little-hymnal.html
12.1.07 | Review by Josh Spilker @ Bootleg Magazine
Holler, Wild Rose!
"Our Little Hymnal"
Jersey's Holler, Wild Rose! is sweeping orchestration that defines the spirit of indie rock at its best. A combo of Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky, it's a lifting and tranquil lark through what rock music does well - exceed the current state. 'Marylawn Hair' attaches the best of this "otherness" with a foundation in modern songwriting. The result is a fresh reminder of the endurance of quality musicianship.
Crafted over five years, Holler, Wild Rose! is obviously not a flash in the pan, but built of cast iron. Our Little Hymnal weaves spiritual themes among 'Selahs' or breaks, that offer short one minute respites to the rest of the album. The other songs are thick—often coming in at over six minutes, and includes "Poor in Spirit" at over eleven minutes. This is an aberrant song of dark harp strings and ominous low-key piano drubbings that evolves into an upbeat folk song, and ends with wind-swept howls. In the end Holler, Wild Rose! may feel flimsy and overwrought at times with its vacant indecipherable vocals, similar in nature to the aforementioned. But in the places where Holler, Wild Rose! goes wrong, it makes up for it with inventive playfulness, such as in 'Sun Vines.' Their mix of folksy transcendentalism is catchy and Holler, Wild Rose! delivers with Our Little Hymnal.
11.30.07 | KCRW's Mathieu Schreyer's Top Ten Albums of 2007
Mathieu Schreyer, the
KCRW host of "On the Corner."
Voici:
1) Little Dragon - Little Dragon (Peacefrog)
2) Andy Bey - Ain't Necessarily So (12th Street Records)
3) Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur (Domino)
4) Various Artists - Colombia!: The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes (Soundway Records)
5) Trus'me - Working Nights (Fat City Recordings)
6) Waldeck - Ballroom Stories (Dope Noir Records)
7) Christian Prommer - Drumlesson, Vol. 1 (Sonar Kollektiv)
8) Cornelius - Sensuous (Everloving)
9) Holler, Wild Rose! - Our Little Hymnal (Backlight Records)
10) Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators - Keep Reaching Up (Light in the Attic)
full article available here
11.23.07 | Review by Champersnova @ Puddlegum.net
Holler, Wild Rose!: a collective vision
ISTANBUL - Hailing from New Jersey, Holler, Wild Rose! is the perfect combination of shoegaze, post-rock and ambient. Despite the young existence of this seven-piece, they have already been compared to several masters of these genres in a big way. Their debut Our Little Hymnal is one of the wonders came out in 2007; promising a winning music cemented with heart! A Hymnal that is encouraging, moving, somewhat provoking and gripping all the way.
Here, they have answered some questions for Puddlegum; about the band, album and music:
Holler, Wild Rose! is an interesting name for a band which captures attention right away. I know it is also the title of the first song in the album - Our Little Hymnal. So why did you pick this name? Is the same-titled song inspired by the band-name or the band-name came after the song was written?
First things first! The band is named after the song. We were originally called aDive, so many years ago. In a tumultuous and defining moment for our group, we decided to change the name to proclaim a collective vision, which the song best describes. At it’s core, Holler, Wild Rose! is an earnest declaration that we believe in joy and in promise; we hope to be their standard-bearers.
You are a 7 (6?) piece band. It can be considered to be sort of a crowded group comparing to many other bands today. What advantages or disadvantages does it bring, do you think? I have always thought “more people in a band” must motivate more creativity and energy but can it also cause a difficulty for consistency? Do you all contribute when a song is being written?
We are a seven piece band, but we can be as little as five; Our rhythm guitarist and organist perform whenever they’re available. I would agree that a greater number of players increases creative energy, but I believe the key to accessing it is in the way in which our different members interact. One positive for us: we’ve had several years to learn about one another! First and foremost, we are friends and family that love each other, and our priority is lifting our voices together in unison; no one in the group is waiting for their turn to show off and solo. Our shared goal is better songwriting, not riffs or showmanship. I can honestly say when you put your mates first, it’ll enrich your friendship and cultivate a fertile soil for mutual contribution.
How do you feel about the reactions to your debut Our Little Hymnal? Do you think it is received by the community that you were addressing to? Or do you have a specific target community in the first place? Who would/should listen to your music?
Overall, we feel the reaction has been a positive and encouraging one. We definitely didn’t have a target market or demographic in mind in releasing this album; we hope that the music will reach people from all walks of life. We played an impromptu concert in the NYC subway system in October, and the most fantastic thing was seeing families and businessmen and college students alike all taking time in their busy lives to stop and listen- hope transcends so many barriers!
Our Little Hymnal is like a 12 episode - story combined by “selahs”. All of the songs in the album appear to be “pieces” of a “whole”. Could you tell that it is a shared story of yourselves that you built up in the 4 year time before releasing this album?
It’s not a proper story, but maybe a collection of vignettes all caught up in the same continuum. The subject matter was culled from the real experience of love and loss and learning. We did spend alot of effort in maintaining a sense of balance and cohesion.
Will you follow the same concept for your following works in the future? Maybe a sequel to Our Little Hymnal?
No sequels please! I’d simply say that any collective work we create in the future will be created in the pursuit of honesty and wholeness. We’ll do nothing less than draw up from the depths of us, and hopefully the listener will discern our motive is true.
Before releasing the debut; one of your former songs “Victory Shine” appeared in a Backlight compilation album - “Other Songs and Dances Vol I”. When comparing “Victory Sunshine” to “Our Little Hymnal”; the dark - downtempo sound can be heard in both but still I felt a soft transition from electronic-ambient to slightly noisy shoegaze -post-rock. How would you explain this change over? And how the fans have received this slight change?
Victory Shine was a wonderful chance for us to branch out and show the breadth of our sonic palette. We wrote and recorded it during the time we were writing Our Little Hymnal, so it’s definitely not a representation of an earlier writing phase for us. I would say, though, that we made a conscious decision not to indulge our electronic appetites in the recording of the album, for the sake of aural continuity.
You have been compared to plenty of inspiring names in the music business; from Jeff Buckley to My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Rós to Thom Yorke, David Bowie to Explosions In The Sky… Personally, you remind me of Galaxie 500 too! Have these names inspired you making your music, what are your inspirations? And what do you listen in general?
Those names are such pillars of alternative music, you’d have to live under a rock not to be influenced by them! With so many members, we could probably open up a little record shop of all our inspirations: folk, gospel, hip-hop, classical, rave, electronic, jungle, drum n”bass, just to name a few!
Are there any plans on making a music video for any song in Our Little Hymnal?
We have an amazing storyboard and script for Marylawn Hair. Now we’re just trying to come up with a budget- never easy. In the meantime, we believe the music itself can stand on its own, without visual interpretation.
Can we expect a European tour in the near future?
We would love nothing more than to spread our joy across the pond- we’ve had such positive European response, it’d be a shame not to be able to tour there. Hopefully we’ll be eastward bound in the latter half of 2008.
How the word about Holler, Wild Rose! is being spreaded? Where would you put “internet”, “tv”, “radio”, “press” in the way of publication?
Internet was the primary and is the invaluable medium. We’ve secured radio promotion, and the music is being played on over 100 independent stations in the US; that’s not including online radio broadcasts and satellite radio. Traditional magazine press has been a slower foray, though we’ve been featured on numerous blog reviews. Television is an arena we have yet to break.
full article available at Puddlegum.net
10.22.07 | Review by Allison @ GreenClothesMusic.com
Holler, Wild Rose
I’m sure that they’re going to get really tired of hearing this but the resemblance is so uncanny. Holler, Wild Rose’s vocalist John Mosloskie’s voice sounds as if Jeff Buckley and Thom Yorke had a lovechild that consequently decided to front an indie-rock band. Holler, Wild Rose’s influences are pretty obvious and at first I thought this would hinder them, but they really succeeded in picking the best parts from these influences and put their own twist on the sound.
The group played some well-received appearances at CMJ in New York City this past week including a performance at the Union Square Subway station on Friday.
full article available at greenclothesmusic.com
10.16.07 | Review by Bill Rocks Cleveland @ I Rock Cleveland
Holler, Wild Rose!
The easy way to talk about Holler, Wild Rose, would be to simply list the influences that are at times inescapable. John Moloskie's wide ranging vocals invite instant comparisons to Thom Yorke, or even Jeff Buckley. Musically, they'll have you thinking back to early recordings by Radiohead, The Verve, or even The Shins at times. Granted, that's a lot of life changing artists in one paragraph, especially for a young band out of Jersey who just released their debut record, Our Little Hymnal. Yet, all these comparisons are valid, and most surprising, is the fact that Holler, Wild Rose are able to take on such familiar sources and not come off as a band cobbled together to fulfill a wish list of recommendations.
Holler, Wild Rose are able to overcome this daunting list of references through ambition, confidence, and skill. Our Little Hymnal stretches close to 70 minutes, and at its center is the nearly 12 minute "Poor in Spirit." For seven minutes, chords are strummed slowly on the guitar and every moment from their birth as a down stroke to their gradual dissipation is wholly audible. Similarly, every note struck on the piano, and every syllable sung by Moloskie is given ample room to live and breathe. Even without the second movement and its soaring crescendo, these simple pleasures would have been satisfying in their own right.
Marylawn Hair offers an entirely different listening experience. Again, Moloskie's vocals are an obvious draw, but in place of the slow, careful, and patient approach exhibited on "Poor In Spirit," Holler, Wild Rose deliver a thick, colorful, soundscape with bright, twinkling guitar tones set against ambient swirls. While "Sun Vines" may be the most approachable track on Our, Little Hymnal. The liberal usage of reverb and echo effects lends it the same endearing quality as the songs from The Shins debut, Oh, Inverted World. You can consider it your gateway to the bountiful pleasures waiting within Our Little Hymnal.
full article available at irockcleveland.blogspot.com
10.12.07 | Review by Lauren Piper @ CMJ
Holler, Wild Rose! Sonicbids CMJ SPOTLIGHT Artist of the Week
New Jersey ambient indie-rock outfit Holler Wild, Rose are this week's CMJ Sonicbids Spotlight winners. The six, sometimes seven-piece recently released their debut album Our Little Hymnal (Backlight), and has received air play on more than 100 radio stations, including KCRW, BAGeL Radio, and WXPN. Check out the band as they rock out on October 17 at Club Midway for the Organic Entertainment showcase at this year's CMJ's Music Marathon.
full article availableHERE
9.21.07 | Review by Enfuse Magazine
Holler, Wild Rose!
Is it better to brave rough waters or abandon the ship in fear of sinking? For Backlight Records’ New Jersey-based Holler, Wild Rose!, they assume the title of captain going down with the ship. But Holler survives the storm, as their debut album Our Little Hymnal, set to hit stores September 18, is a testament to reaching for the transcendent beyond the struggle of life – an explosive joy beyond circumstance.
Comprised of songs created over a five-year time span, Our Little Hymnal was created by John Mosloskie (vocals/guitars/keys/banjo/slide guitar), Ryan Smith (drums/percussion), Ryan Cheresnick (guitars), Scott Vangenderen (bass), Mike Ortega (keys/guitars/vocals) and Lou D’Elia (guitars) to join an experimental panoramic ambience with urban undercurrents and a forceful and explosive joy. The result is the untainted sound of freedom.
Known for drawing in their live audience with their obvious collaborative enthusiasm, Holler was named after the album’s opening track (which has become a landmark crowd favorite at their concerts). “The joy, hope, energy, imagery and the wall of sound that come from this song come from what formed us as the band we are today,” says drummer Ryan Smyth. “I think it represents us perfectly, and that is the reason we adorn its name.”
The eponymous opener’s seven minutes of bombastic guitars sound like rays scorching from the sun into your eyes, while “Captive Train” finds Mosloskie singing with his choir of recently freed inmates as if they had just received reprieve from the judge.
The apex of Our Little Hymnal comes early in the form of “Mary Lawn Hair.” Multiple loops and moody harmonies fire off in the background keeping the song moving forward, while allowing the band to channel some of shoegaze’s heyday and intertwine with some of prog rocks finest moments as well.
full article available at www.enfusemagazine.com
08.30.07 | Review by The Tripwire
Holler, Wild Rose! - Our Little Hymnal by Chip Adams
Holler, Wild Rose! must have been reading my mind when they sat down to record this particular album. Our Little Hymnal takes bits from almost too many of my favorites, tossing in elements of Sigur Ros, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead and The Verve. I know I know... it is almost a mind explosion worth of sources, but somehow this New Jersey band was able to harness those powers and channel them into a damn beautiful album.
The first track is also their band name, which I do find to be a little weird. Regardless, frontman John Mosloskie's vocals teeter on that brink of Buckley-esque madness that even Our's Jiimmy Gnecco at times has a difficult time achieving. That is no knock against Gnecco, who is one hell of a talented dude, but Mosloskie takes no apologies for going balls to the wall on this one. Washes of guitars pour down over the vocals, making for a near-Sigur Ros sonic storm of shoegaze glory. Okay Holler, Wild Rose!, you've officially given me chills down my spine, and this is only the first track.
For shoegaze fans, you'll immediately think of My Bloody Valentine within the first seconds of "Mary Lawn Hair." The looped, droning keys sound like they were taken from any number of songs from Loveless, particularly "To Here Knows When." This song is best listened to with the lights off and blinds closed, allowing your mind to drift away into the euphoric soundscape that is Holler, Wild Rose!
"Mercy Beat" is quite a bit more straightforward, falling much more into the realm of early Verve mixed with more of those Buckley meets Yorke vocals. They embrace the soft/loud formula of bands such as iLiKETRAiNS to near perfection throughout this one, and it is very, very nice.
A few of the longer tracks, such as "Sun Vines," feel a bit lost, but the gloom filled beauty of "Thief In Our Bed" gets Our Little Hymnal back on track. "Color That Sky" is another treat, taking their time over the span of eight minutes to add in bits of reverbed guitars and glistening guitars that help push Mosloskie's falsetto vocals into the stratosphere. This makes me want to throw on Sigur Ros' Takk album in the next few minutes.
Although Holler, Wild Rose! may lack a bit in originality, they pull from an interesting group of musical inspirations to make up for their lush sound. With the musical power held between front man Mosloskie, drummer Ryan Smith, guitarist Ryan Cheresnick, bassist Scott Vangenderen, multi-instrumentalist Mike Ortega and guitarist Lou D'Elia, I am quite curious to hear what else they have up their sleeves. Their shoegaze meets prog sound has mountains of potential, making them a band to definitely keep an eye on.
full article available at The Tripwire
08.19.07 | Review by Tyler: Tunes Consumed
Holler, Wild Rose! and confessions
From the very second it entered my earphones: John screaming ãHoller!ä met my ears and my world started to break anchor; at its very onset the drums crash, and the guitar reverbing is already at such a high plateau that you have to wonder where it'll go from there. You soon find that it's nothing like your typical build-tension-&-chorus formula, and it has a quality that blocks from the mind these drab flourescent walls, and the damp murky day that awaits beyond them. Even the ache of my growing wisdom teeth is (gratefully) lost somewhere in this noise.
The emotional core of the music will lead you inward, sit you down in a corner of its tangled web, and then toss streamers to the air that sparkle and tint whatever it is your mind might be occupied with. If I were somehow to not have all these duties to work, school, family and friends, I imagine myself sprawled out on the floor enraptured in this & in some kind of trance. Days, weeks would pass by, the world wouldn't stop spinning by any means, but that wouldn't matter to me.
I remember this feeling, and I think it was sometime in the 90s, when music was a new phenomenon to me. I'm not ashamed to say that at the time it was Marcy Playground and Radiohead that would take me places, and not that I'm trying to draw stylistic parallels here, but it brings me back to that feeling. Those were the days when there wasn't a thing on my mind that dwelled outside my small hometown; those truly were weightless days. Confession: It's not always easy maintain this blog, constantly ebbing and flowing between excitement and boredom, yet always searching for the next great tune to indulge in and then pass on. It's sort of my duty (and passion) now to keep on the fringe, and sort through the mess of new music. I'd say probably 90% of the time that I feel like a kid at a candy factory, and the rest of the time I feel kind of off-put asking myself all sorts of ãwhysä and ãwhat-forsä.
Now, I do a lot of baking & cooking (stay with me here), probably more than the average 21 year-old college student, but I only cook when there's an absolute need, a desire that burbles up from my gut. When I do cook, I like to cook up the most elaborate dishes, and Alley helps quite a bit with that and her worldly cuisine. I can make the meanest German chocolate cake, but I imagine sometimes that if I were to cook always, daily, and without that inner tension, would it just be a job, and would flavour start to fade from everything I taste?
I sometimes get that fear with music, the sweetest of all candies, by merely writing in this space. When I find something like this music here, and it really makes me feel something; it takes me both backwards and forwards, then I really know what I'm in it for. It's the delight, the pleasure, the feeling, and to write about it, as hard as it is to express sometimes, I'm thankful for that too.
I wonder, who else has to go through this, too?
Holler, Wild Rose! has this CD, you know? How about you check out this sampling of my favourite tracks from Our Little Hymnal, and then go buy it in September if you like it. You can keep up to date over at their home on the web, even.
full article available at Tunes Consumed
08.10.07 | BAGeL Radio
"Had The Verve not imploded, and instead hired a Thom Yorke-ophile Jeff Buckley to sing his interpretation of Sigur R--s covering Loveless, you'd have Holler, Wild Rose!. Our Little Hymnal creates the dark, almost frighteningly personal, ultimately redemptive atmospherics of a moving black and white art film. This is music to immerse oneself in -- unplug everything else, put on the headphones, turn out the light, recline comfortably, and let the songs carry you off to wherever each takes you."--Ted Leibowitz, BAGeL Radio
08.18.07 | Review by QuarterLifeParty.com
Holler, Wild Rose! reminiscent of Buckley
I know brent already posted on this great new band Holler, Wild Rose! but I have been on vacation so I have just gotten around to it...and i must say...WOW. After only getting halfway through the first song, I couldn't help but think "man, he sounds so much like Jeff Buckley". And that is something I do not take lightly, as I am a huge Buckley fan...and find it to be near impossible for someone to have such soaring/gut wrenching vocals as he did...yet here I sit and I can hardly believe my ears.
Singer John Mosloskie takes the lyrics and notes of each song and sends the listener on an aural roller coaster ride as the vocals soar, dip, and wail. And all within the confines of the amazingly lush instrumentation. I think Buckley was one of the rare singers who could take lyrics and sing them with so much soul you felt as if you were living them yourselves. The same is true in a lot of the songs off Rose's debut, Our Little Hymnal, and i honestly would be surprised if this album didn't get a lot more "buzz" by the time it comes out on September 7th.
In other songs, i can also hear hints of Rufus Wainwright, Alec Ounsworth (CYHSY), as well as Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots).
Full article available at QuarterLifeParty.com
07.22.07 | Review by QuarterLifeParty.com
"A Shout Out To Holler, Wild Rose!"
I received "Our Little Hymnal" by the band Holler! Wild Rose in my mailbox on Friday and have been listening to it all weekend.
The first thing I noticed on this album was the vocals. Not that the music isn't good, because it really is, it's just that the singer isn't just throwing out a repetitive verse, but actually feeling and moving around the music. He ventures outside of the pattern and then reigns it back in. It's more of a loose style, building as the music builds, singing to the drums, throwing out staccato rythyms then holding notes and carrying them to lofty heights. He sounds like Richard Ashcroft on his low note, on his mid range whine a little like Thom Yorke, and when he really belts it out...Fyfe Dangerfield of the Guillemotts. The texture of the melodies follow in and around the song but never really repeat the same thing.
The album begins with a quick yell of "Holler!" and then jumps in a cascading wall of sound. This builds then drops off immediately followed by a reverberated vocal. It sounds like it could be underwater, there are even some ambient water-like sounds going on in the background. And these types of nuances are spread throughout the entire album, using space as much as they do noise. They give the nod to shoegaze, especially on songs like "Mary Lawn Hair" with undulating splashes of noise, layers and layers of fuzz, ethereal background vocals,synths and relentless cymbal clashing. However, the lead vocals remain clear throughout.
This music is always adding something, you can bury yourself in the mix discovering new sounds and instruments. On "Sun Vines" they start out with a great guitar melody, slightly jazzy, that dies off into a cycling guitar with a walky bass line. But the real gift in this song is when the vocals come in ("God I miss your suuunnn viiinesss") and offer something similar to what you would hear on a grizzly bear album, the echo of Brian Wilson. You can even hear a similar dancing piano line that could fit perfectly into many a beach boys song. I have also heard the same type of thing more recently in the music of The Brother Kite. The song goes on for almost 7 minutes bringing in some fluttery whistle parts as the song traverses. Our Little Hymnal has some long songs on it, even one clocking in over the 11 minute mark, but I wouldn't really criticize them for being too long, the timing just seems to fit for the longer songs and makes sense, I didn't find myself wondering when it was going to end. "Captive Train" rolls in slow with some cold war type "St John" soul minimalism, but picks up after the hand clap intro with an increasing beat and airy soaring guitars. I could go on but I am beginning to run out adjectives.
The overall depth of the album keeps one coming back for more to find new spaces within the songs. "Our Little Hymnal" will be released September 18th hopefully followed by a tour through Baltimore.
Full article available at QuarterLifeParty.com
05.21.07 | Interview by Sari Delmar - Truth Explosion Magazine (Toronto)
"Holler Wild Rose: I just broke down and cryed"
Lately, I've been talking a lot with those around me about passion. Is it necessary to find your one passion in life? Some people never do, and I am aware of this. So what are they doing? Just aimlessly drifting through life? It's weird to think about. When I was on the phone with John from New Jersey's indie-rock favourite's Holler, Wild Rose! We got knee deep into this idea. He shared a story about how he found his passion for music.
John Mosloskie: I'll paint a story for you.
Truth.Explosion: Awesome, go for it!
JM: So it was about five years ago. I was working outside and it was February.
TE: Where do you work?
JM: I clean up shopping centers basically. There's a lot of them and I clean them, so it's a janitorial job. I've been doing it for six years.
TE: Oh wow!·ok continue·
JM: So It was raining, really bone chilling cold rain and I'm cleaning this parking lot. My raincoat's got all these holes and the soles of my boots as well, and I was just so soaked. That kind of soaked where your limbs are numb and I was just in a place. I was in a place in my life where I just quit this punk band I had been with throughout high school. Just out of high school and being a bass player in a punk band·I couldn't really write music. I knew I was passionate about music and I just felt horrible because I was in this place in my life where I was unable to pursue my passion. I was just pretty much depressed. I didn't go to college. I didn't have much as far as prospects for the future. I was disbanded, depressed.
TE: Oh no, so then what?
JM: I'm just out there feeling dejected and thinking about all my inadequacies and shit. Then something happened that I didn't expect. All of a sudden in one moment that was broken in me. All those insecurities just broke and left me. On the outside I was a soaked 18 year old kid and I looked up and just felt relieved. Like I just saw things differently, it was like all my doors were shut and then I realized I just needed that moment and I realized all the joy that was waiting for me in life. And then I started Holler, that's what started it.
TE: So you were the one to start the band?
JM: Yep. About a year and a half after that moment we got started. I always made music with Ryan and then we picked up Ryan, our guitarist, and about May of 2003 we were Holler, Wild Rose!
TE: So it sparked from this moment in the rain? How so?
JM: Yea that moment acted as a personal milestone for me. A lot of things in my life at that time became the songs, the ones. It wasn't this big instant and it wasn't all automatic, life's not like that, but since then I could see the joy that's made my life more worthwhile. I found the music in the rain and all these ideas from there.
TE: Do you think everyone has this moment of clarity some point in their life?
JM: I don't know. I feel almost like· No. It's sort of a shift in thinking, but it wasn't. It was something special because it was me, but just the way that people reacted to the music kind of confirmed that that was a special moment, later. We've played shows where people come up to us after and tell us ãI just broke down and criedä and that's just so· humbling because that's just the outpouring of our spirits, and they can actually feel it too and be inspired. It's this whole theme that we want to put out there that when we are playing and singing what we are inspired by is the idea of a joy beyond circumstance. Just the idea that whatever is going on in your life the downtrodden ness, the depression, there's something deeper than that, there's still somewhere to find joy and that's the bedrock of why we play. It's really the cause and the effect.
TE: Wow, cool. So you're outside, were you ready for it? How did you feel?
JM: I had no clue it was going to come and in an instant I just looked up and started laughing. I felt as if a weight was lifted off my shoulder. I got the idea for the song ãMercy Beatä then. The metaphor for the rain, the rhythm of the rain is the rhythm of life. We can become so bogged down and numb to the rhythm and caught up in the mundane-ities in life. It was in that moment I saw the big picture. Totally unexpected.
TE: Do you think it was just the time in your life you needed a change? Like you had to feel that depression of not being able to do what you want to in life, to put you in a place where you're ready to have this realization and start fresh with a new outlook?
JM: Yea, I think I had to be in some valley to be able to look up and see the higher ground. It's weird. I was thinking about this last week. Just that the privileges we have growing up in western society. We grow up in America, middle class, and how much hardships we endure, like socio economical pressures. There's so much that we don't feel that the rest of the world feels, so I was thinking why are we so emotionally distraught? We're medicated, we've got therapies so why is it that we can't cope and I think it's because we don't endure enough hardships that when we do face those circumstances we aren't prepared to react. So yea, I don't think I could have seen the joy of that moment if I wasn't in that state of mind.
TE: So you were down because you weren't making music and such, but what about people who never find out what they really love in their life? How do you feel about those kinds of people who just aimlessly work jobs and never really find their passion?
JM: That's why I feel like we're sort of blessed in a way to be those people who know what we're passionate about and what to pursue. It gives us the advantage to plan and sing about what we know so that maybe those people can come out and see us and we can evoke something in them, stir something in them. At least they will get a glimpse.
TE: I'd say in school kids aren't really taught to follow their passion, more so what you're good at and what will make you money. Some people get stuck in these jobs and life's they totally don't enjoy because really, they don't know better. What would you say to those kids who kind of just feel they have to follow a path?
JM: I don't know. I think if you're doing what benefits you financially or what gives you some semblance of what society says, it's just short changing yourself. How can you ever really know yourself if you never took a chance?
TE: For sure. So even though now you're making music and satisfied with your lives, you're still working a janitorial job during the day and at this independent stage it's got to be really hard work to keep this side of your life functioning·
JM: Yea, it's definitely lots of work. Each of the band members has a different job and we're all just hoping that it takes off. We believe in what we're saying and what the music makes us feel so we're willing to work hard to make it happen. Hopefully with the new album and us playing shows, coming down to Toronto next weekend, we will be able to spread the word about what we're really all about.
TE: Awesome. So what is the ãtruthä about Holler, Wild Rose?
JM: The truth about Holler, Wild Rose's music is·.. I'll give you a limerick.
TE: Ok sweet!
JM: Holler, wild rose is a wild rose and all the world shall see, that the holler kind of a wild rose set a train full of captives free.
12.26.06 | Review by Sari Delmar - Audio Blood Magazine (Canada)
"Victory Shine - Other Songs & Dances: vol.1"
Later on in the disc you come across an ambient indie gem, "Victory Shine" by Holler, Wild Rose!, with it's seducing instrumental elements and barely there vocal approach. The drum work in this song is inspiring and it's refreshing to see a song where the vocals are not the main focus, as is the case for songs on this album. Fans of Broken Social Scene or TV on the Radio would appreciate such artful composition.
full article available at audioblood.com
05.30.06 | Review by E.L. Field "Eric" - Amazon.com
"Holler Wild Rose: Victory Shine"
Once there was a band called RadioHead, and the world changed. Some picked up the form and ran with it. (RadioHead themselves sure as hell didn't..) Being somewhat well versed in the form, I listened to this, heard a track a while ago, and decided to dive in and have a few laps. Holler is to RadioHead as Gavin Breyars is to Phillip Glass. You need to know this.
It's a similar genre, -but where you think you hear something familiar you are drawn to strange rhythms, a vocalist who sometimes sounds like a Berlin Cabaret singer, and these wonderful faint moods held in smaller voices with `Tangerine Dream,' electronics. Truth of the matter is, `Head is not this advanced. (sorry.) Those used to a grey haze and the semi-nodding acrid fog, (only to find thin smoke and mirrors,) can, this time, go as deep as they wish... This is more Eno and Bowie, had they continued on earlier trails. Holler keeps rolling where you thought the others went, -but never did. -and that's what makes them BETTER.
I admit, it sort of sounds and echoes like wandering a playground for three-year old picts, druids, and celts, -maybe it's just something Tolkein or Lewis romped in every day to decompress, and is spiritually quite safe. (I've played the CD backwards and the gargoyles in my living room are still cement and have not eaten my cats.) This is not a song, it's a portal. It's alive and from somewhere else, but it's a somewhere that that has managed to live and progress on a traffic median, or a road that was forgotten by the Army Corps of Engineers and cartographers. You'll still want to try to figure it out. Of course something will be lost in the translation, and you'll write me and say `...you've got it all wrong, --they are actually _____.' -but that's the beauty of discovery, and all transfiguration is highly personal. I think I understand what Pete meant about these guys.
08.12.05 | Review by Justin Charlesharlan C/O CrapFilter.com
"Someone sign these guys"
Northern NJ's Holler Wild Rose! is working on their first release and, if I remember correctly, will no longer be abel to be considered ãunsignedä when they do because a Brooklyn based indy label is going to put the release out with them. That's okay, because at this current moment, they still fit the description of being an unsigned band. Instrumentation and experimentation are the landmarks of their sound, but what impresses me most is lead singer, John, and his sister, Morgan. The vocals are so emotionally powerful, even when the lyrics are unrecognizable...
Full article available at crapfilter.com
