Quit +/Or Fight

Holopaw's first self-titled album was mainly the work of a couple fellows. One of them was John Orth, who helped pen some tunes with Isaac Brock as part of the Ugly Cassanova project. For their second release, the group incorporated several other people, yet rather than getting louder or changing their style a great deal, they continued down their path of slightly skewed country music. Although the title of their newest release is Quit +/Or Fight, they're not really that combative. In fact, despite having five members, the M.O. of the group seems to be understatement.

That said, understatement is not a bad thing at all. The members seem to work together like a well-tuned machine, using subtle change after subtle change to their advantage. I imagine that if they let themselves get stuck in a rut, the album wouldn't be nearly engaging, but at eleven tracks and just over thirty minutes it feels like a fresh breath of air. "Losing Light" opens the release with just over two minutes of warm guitar, vocals from Orth, and soft percussion while bass and synth add some subtle tones. "3-Shy-Cubs" mixes electric piano, handclaps, and kitchen-sink percussion into an endearing track that really makes little sense lyrically (like many tracks), but paints an evocative picture with quick changes and a glorious finale.

As mentioned before, the group really seems to know its place in terms of instrumentation. There are a few places where the instrumentation gets a bit more dense, but for the most part the players all hang back and add their parts, then really shine when its their turn to step to the front of the mix. One of the cohesive elements of all tracks is the warm, warbly croon of Orth, who seems to hold everything together with his often multi-tracked vocals. Imagine a highly narcotic Shins with even more subtle instrumentation and you're getting somewhere close.

There are plenty of standouts on the short album, but tracks like "Holiday" and "Shiver Me" stand out especially with their lush mix of instrumentation and melodic flourishes. The former is a shorter track that mixes blissful pedal steel and shimmering synths before bursting into a lovely close, while the latter closes out the album with an almost deceivingly bland intro before dropping off into an atmospheric and touching second half. Quit +/Or Fight is an album that wasn't even on my radar just before it came out, but has since burrowed safely into my consciousness and will likely end up on my list of favorite releases for the year.

(from almost cool music reviews)

Holopaw's "Quit +/or Fight" doesn't seem like it's trying all that hard. You can tell the band has potential and that if they put in a little more energy that the album would've been pretty good. Like John Orth perfectly depicts, however, the band seems "timid" (Orth sings in a timid voice). Lyrically you can't really tell what he's saying, and musically it's pretty standard stuff. Thankfully all of the songs are decent, which helps things. The reason I'm giving this "4" stars instead of "3" is that it makes some pretty good background or relaxing music. None of the songs "wow" you, though. Indie rock fans might like this I suppose. Slightly recommended.

Highlights include:
the entire album is pretty decent

OK, this is not just a review, but a manifesto. Just about everything that is wrong with this great country right now can be summed up with the one star review which preceded this one. I really like this disc. It is extremely well written, melodic, and daring. It is also, God forbid, obviously the work of people with fully functioning, creative brains. If every freaking musician that dares not to open with an "oh so scary" menacing bass line and an adenoidal scream to satan is considered a "wussie", then color me a fan of the wusses.

I don't know what Mr. Grimes' political views are, but his review is reflective of a lot of the ridiculous rhetoric that this country's political discourse has fallen prey to. You are either a "patriot" (and for whatever war we decide to wage) or a "wussie" (and therefore a traitor). I know it is a lot easier to see the world in black and white, right and wrong, and good and bad, but there really are some other hues out there. Check 'em out. Only a real wuss would refuse to do so.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 6 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars