Back in the spring of this year, Julia Holter quickly released the follow up to her debut from 2011 entitled Tragedy which was inspired by Euripides’ Greek play Hippolytus. Taking time away from tutoring teenagers in her native Los Angeles, Holter recorded Ekstasis mostly at home and mostly on her own. At times recalling Kate Bush and more recent artists such as Grimes, Ekstasis sounds like it’s from another time both past and future.
Like walking through an old abandoned home with secret passages and hidden rooms behind bookcases, there is much to discover here. First track, “Marienbad” is a marvel in itself. At times feeling like it could all fall apart at any time; beats, strings, and a distorted bugle appear and disappear throughout. The dreamlike vocals of “Our Sorrows” with its “if you call out, call out, call out, call out I will follow you” refrain is then followed by swirling vocals that make it feel like you’re listening to someone drown. “In the Same Room” features an insistent drumbeat and handclaps, the lyrics being a back and forth between two people before it all starts to fade away as quickly as it came.
The challenging aspects of Holter’s work is balanced by featuring just as many melodic and catchy moments throughout. Not a conventional listen and quite abstract at times, Ekstasis is an album to get lost in.
9/10
(Review also found at UMFM.com)
The Light Appears 