On muggy summer days, you want music to lift you up. Effervescent music that sparkles and shimmers in the haze, cutting right through the heat and energizing you with its ebullience.
“Super Panavision 70” is that cool breeze. With its wall-of-sound echoes of Broadcast, Beach House, and Tarnation’s lovelorn grit, this is music to get lost in. The crystalline production beautifully highlights the luminous, triple-tracked harmonies and round-robin vocals, underpinned and grounded by a slightly martial drumbeat. I can’t remember when a song grabbed me this immediately… It’s mesmerizing and delightful. Umpteen listens later, it still is.
Strange Holiday is the brainchild of singer Alison Ables. Formerly of Tristeza, she’d always loved to sing but never had time to develop her ideas, thanks to constant touring. A brief spell in an a capella group led by Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman inspired her to move to Portland, built herself a studio, and start a solo project called Soft Fruit.
While working on her debut EP, she met Ben Simpson (bass) and Andrew Grosse (moog), who became full time members. With the addition of Kevin Davis on guitar and Jesse Robert W on drums, Strange Holiday was officially born.
You can buy Strange Holiday’s debut EP, Archipelago, here. They are currently at work on their debut album.
