Siblings, Steve and Nick Winiarski make up the melodic Bronx duo known as Holiday. Leaning heavily on their influences, the pair has released their self-titled, six-track EP. The tracks are melody driven with the vocals standing prominently at the foreground. Filled with emotive, allegorical lyrical matter; the tracks play out more story than song.
The album opens with “Playing Your Cards” with a guitar tandem over simple backing drums (electronic perhaps?). Acoustic provides the melody while the weepy, bent note electric riff work provides intermittent filler. The track is a fitting opener in that it serves as a pace setter and indicator of the album content. The down tempo “Keep U” again, is guitar/vocally driven. The same simple backing percussion is the only apparent rhythm section and aptly fits the mold of a John Mayer track both in lyrical matter and musicality. Melodically simple, the track seems meant to aim the focus on the vocal delivery. “Air” is the album’s demure closer with more simple acoustic strums providing the melodic foundation. The song follows a standard verse/chorus format until the midpoint where backing electric guitar makes an appearance along side the vocals. There is a slight build to the track as backing vocals lend more to the foundation, however, missing is any clear peak or valley to the song.
Holiday is a clean album within its production, which is respectable in that I am pretty sure this is a DIY project. From track to track there is a vein of similarity that runs through the album, but I don’t feel it takes anything away from the record. There is a very diggable amateurishness about it and I feel that simplistic approach to the tracks allows the songs to shine on their own merit without being muddled by post-production work or overt, unnecessary musicality. The singer/songwriter ethos of Holiday at present is good but I feel it is also going to get better.
http://www.facebook.com/TheBandHoliday
by Chris West – cwest@skopemag.com
[Rating: 3/5]
