Julia Holter – “I Shall Love 2”

When I first reviewed Aviary, I surmised: “At fifteen tracks, each hovering in the six-to-nine minute range, Aviary presents a daunting task. It’s a world that requires dedicated immersion; a commitment to its unwieldy time length but also a staunch distancing that allows you to engage its thousands of intricacies. It’s like a dot painting; there’s plenty that can be observed up close, but it’s prudent to step back and see the entire picture for what it was intended to be.”  While that remains true of the album in its entirety, I’d like to think that “I Shall Love 2” does a damn fine job of capturing all of the record’s best traits in a tiny gorgeous bubble.  Holter breathes enticing melodies into the music seemingly without effort, and they swirl around like leaves caught in an updraft – wispy and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Chimes echo, strings swell from miles off, drums clatter, and electronics bubble and murmur. Her voice sways with the flow of the song, adding in a gorgeous hum or chirpy quip in spurts and however the music dictates. A grander nature surrounds this mini-opus, and it feels as though Holter is merely observant, as opposed to in charge. It all feels very autumn-esque, and it’s hands down one of the most beautifully picturesque tracks of her entire career.

Read more from this decade at my homepage for Sowing’s Songs of the Decade.