Holly Macve - “Not the Girl”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 9; Popularity Index: 6

Pairs Well With…Margo Price, Amanda Shires, Mazzy Star

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. It’s a terrific evolution for the UK singer-songwriter and performer while keeping the train on the tracks, an under-appreciated record that hopefully gets another look as she heads back to SXSW this year. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Beautifully voiced singer-songwriter Holly Macve released her debut full-length Golden Eagle since our last check-in for SXSW 2017 and recently followed up with “Another Day”, perhaps her most stunning ballad and one that really embraces the country croon within her sound. It feels like this song has been around for a hundred years, a crushing and simple melody that hearkens back to beginnings of Americana music. Ghostly slide guitars give “Another Day” a dreamy platform for Macve’s pitch-perfect vocal - have tissues on hand to get through these perfect four minutes of heart-wrenching music.