Holly Macve - “1995"

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 9; Popularity Index: 8

Pairs Well With…Amanda Shires, Lana Del Rey, Mazzy Star

2024 marks the fifth SXSW write-up from us on Holly Macve, following her journey from pretty country-folk to the downright gorgeous ballads collected on her latest EP Time Is Forever. While the Lana Del Rey duet immediately jumps out, a collaboration that feels like twin souls dancing in time, the whole of Time Is Forever is so consistent that it presents as a single piece. Romantic melodies, sweeping strings, all laid over an Americana canvas, Macve’s music feels serious and personal, finely crafted and still wholly raw.  Classic and cinematic as well, these songs are a real feat and reason to move Holly Macve up to mainstream levels right now. (Kevin McStravick)

2022 Review: Further emboldening her songs with chamber folk instrumentation and lush atmospherics, Holly Macve’s sound is borderline psychedelic on parts of her second full-length Not the Girl, finding experimental moments within a normally straightforward genre. There’s still a strong Americana backbone to Not the Girl, whether it’s a little slide guitar on one of her powerful piano ballads or acoustic strums backing more pop-oriented tracks. At the core is Macve’s terrific vocals, a smoky, journeying voice brimming around classic melodies and creating a sound all her own.