NYC Beat #1: Holly Miranda
By: Chris Vinyard
[HOLLY MIRANDA]
Being in NYC these days is a bit strange. There's this underlying tension that comes with living at the centre of a global financial meltdown I guess. As Police and Metro Transit Authority budges are cut one wonders whether or not New York City is on its way to being "cool" again like it was in the 70s and 80s when junkies sold their bodies on 53rd and 3rd, bum piss filled the air of central park, and you were liable to be mugged at gunpoint on Avenue A if you dared venture there late at night alone. One thing that I hope doesn't change, but grows stronger with economic hardship, is the amount of great music coming out of the metropolis and its many venues and scenes that have increased exponentially over the last 20 years. So while I would have shied away from the opportunity to write something new and interesting about music each week in many other a location, in the boroughs of NYC I look out and see no end to inspiration for a weekly column about the city and the music that makes it tick.
Or maybe I shouldn't have written so quickly. It proved hard enough to narrow down the search for the inaugural entry. At first I was set on covering a show thrown by Todd P at a new venue (if a burnt out loft counts for one) in Brooklyn likely appropriately named The Shank (other shows were happening this past Thursday at reputable establishments like Monster Island Basement and Silent Barn). The lineup was a perfect example of the Bedstuy/Baltimore/Bushwick triple threat, featuring Team Robespierre, The Death Set, and Ninja Sonik. It was sure to be a sweaty good time full of crowd surfing and sing-along fun with bands that have perfected the art of mixing punk and pumped up synths and a "hip hop" group of sorts that knows no bounds whether intentionally or because they're too baked to know where they should be. But sadly the Thursday night outing was awash due to SXSW preparations and a sick girlfriend at home in need of TLC.
So next I set my sights and ears on Holly Miranda, whom also may be known to some as involved with the group The Jealous Girlfriends. I'm minting her my first "NYC Artist/Band To Watch". Lately she's been on a solo tear, and although she's unsigned and has barely played more than 5 or so shows, the early verdict from bloggers and established media alike (oh yeah, and Kanye West too of course) is that she's doing something amazing. You can find me in agreement on that front, and eagerly awaiting my chance to see her play live opening up for fellow Brooklynites Nada Surf this April in at the Bell House.
The tracks from the forthcoming debut (once a label and all that other good stuff is sorted out) are being produced by Dave Sitek of TV on The Radio fame, and carry many of his trademark fingerprints. Layered vocals and atmosphere are wrapped around each other in a forceful but slow moving iceberg of sound. Yet in striking contrast to Scarlett Johansen, one of his other partners in crime, Miranda can actually belt it out with confidence. And yeah, she's writing her own songs too. Vocally she walks a line that could split the difference between Kate Bush and Chan Marshall with a bit of fabric softener thrown in the mix for uneasy comfort. She's crafting aural webs that glisten in the moonlight and capture listeners like moths to a flame.
That's all for now. Next week I'll be reporting my findings from SXSW, where I hope to take in quite a few New York bands in the warmer Texas Air.