Common Holly - “Crazy OK”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Bedouine, Jay Som, Weyes Blood

While based in indie folk music, there’s something dark and haunting that resides in Common Holly’s sound, subtly experimental with a delicate touch. A song like “Joshua Snakes”, a highlight from Common Holly’s excellent sophomore record When I say to you Black Lightning, moans with weird tension, often playing sound around a melody rather than any traditional song construction. “You Dance” is as much a chant than a verse-chorus-verse creation (an approach repeated throughout the record - this typed of twisted expectation gives Black Lightning consistent depth track to track. These trends continue in moments both small and expanded, interesting ideas echoing to an often hypnotic effect. It’s a sad record ultimately, but never boring, an uncommon skill and a credit to Common Holly’s choice to point the spotlight into the shadows of herself rather than on a straight path.