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As we humans grow older, a sense of patience and extended moments of reflection may surface more often from time to time. The captivating music making up the deeply personal “The Sanctity Of Rust” (featuring the greatest abundance of piano and Rhodes electric piano on his albums until now) reflects on the rollercoaster journey called life composer and sound sculptor Hollan Holmes experienced the last two years, something that could also apply to myself and many others to a certain degree. Mr Holmes had to say farewell to several dear friends who were called back home earlier than they deserved, among physical hurdles, financial challenges as well as some spiritual trials. All these profound experiences among Hollan’s perseverance translating them effectively into music have resulted in (another) beautifully crafted and expertly mixed work of sound art, merging enticing sequences with haunting pads, emotive melodies as well as an assortment of sweeping, heartfelt atmospheric sounds. The various bass lines are profound throughout the album, going beautifully with the many warm textures, pads and emotive solo voices surfacing occasionally. Next to the heartwarming title piece kicking off the 70-minute release, “Night Sky”, “One door closes another opens” and “Battle Scars” are highlights with their thrilling, pure and evocative sound design touching both heart and soul. All in all, the listener awaits a very-well produced and mastered mix of raw, gritty, mechanical sounds and tender, introspective passages, offering a contemplative reflection of long passages of time. As a bonus, those who give “The Sanctity Of Rust” an extended and further focussed listen with quality headphones will discover a wealth of subtleties embedded in the immersive, spacious soundings. What a great talent Mr Holmes still is in our EM scene. Website: hollan-holmes.bandcamp.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Hollan Holmes artist page. |
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