Serial Girlfriend - Holly Golightly

Once again you cry who on earth is that?, Well Holly Golightly has been making music for quite a number of years now, initially as part of Billy Childish's garage girl group Thee Headcoatees, then she spread here wings and started going out on her own as a singer/songwriter. She has also appeared on Albums by Rocket from the Crypt and The White Stripes..... Musically she draws from anywhere she feels like producing fairly unique music....... This ...
...is a fine peice of art..........

Kicking off with the fairly garagey "I Can't Be Trusted" a jangly rhythm guitar is complimented by a fuzzy lead, and simple rhythms and Holly's nasally distorted vocal on top of it, producing something fairly unique and strange and bloody good as well. "You Shine" takes a more jazz orientated direction fairly complex rhythms are here, well they sound fairly complex to me, and two ... more

Once again you cry who on earth is that?, Well Holly Golightly has been making music for quite a number of years now, initially as part of Billy Childish's garage girl group Thee Headcoatees, then she spread here wings and started going out on her own as a singer/songwriter. She has also appeared on Albums by Rocket from the Crypt and The White Stripes..... Musically she draws from anywhere she feels like producing fairly unique music....... This album was released by Damaged Goods Records in 1998 and is a fine peice of art..........

Kicking off with the fairly garagey "I Can't Be Trusted" a jangly rhythm guitar is complimented by a fuzzy lead, and simple rhythms and Holly's nasally distorted vocal on top of it, producing something fairly unique and strange and bloody good as well. "You Shine" takes a more jazz orientated direction fairly complex rhythms are here, well they sound fairly complex to me, and two guitars one warm and the other cold weave around each other, complimented by some fine double bass playing and Holly’s chilled out vocal.................... "Want No Other" disappears further up the 60s light jazz avenue with some very interesting percussion playing and is horrendously chilled out, slightly weird and very wonderful.

Then we go down to some fairly dirty chilled out blues on a cover of infamous wife beater Ike Turner's "Your Love is Mine", this song just oozes around your ears and features some wonderful slightly off harmony vocals by Dan Melchior. We are brought back up by the chirpy garagey instrumental "Grandstand" perfectly placed in the running order of the album, textured guitars weave around each other here adding to the overall wonderful effect here. Then we slip into the low down Jazz Blues of "Clean In Too" just guitars and harmonica with Holly pouring over vocal honey, this is totally chilled out late night relaxing music..................... Following on the heels of this is "Down, Down, Down", which is chilled out trippy garage rock and roll, wonderfully atmospheric stirring stuff ..........

"Come The Day" is a drunken bluesy staring at the stars whilst lying in the gutter number, as with the rest of the record it is relaxed, effortless and totally chilled. "Serial Girlfriend" is a haunting number with big musical crescendos, with wonderful fuzz guitar, stirring stuff indeed....... "My Own Sake" has a very cluttered arrangement which works even though it should not, every thing is thrown into the song causing some disorientation amongst the listener but that is possibly intentional......

"Where Can I Go" slips us back into the gutter whilst staring at the stars, in a totally chilled out relaxed and effortless country blues feeling type of thing. The song just suits Holly's nasal voice perfectly................... then "'Till I Get" bursts in with huge slabs of late 60's style psyche and atmospheric almost cinematic feedback. "Now" Finishes Off the Album with just a haunting Piano and Holly's nasally vocal..........

Of all the albums I have by Holly this is possibly my favorite, it is an interesting eclectic mixture of songs which I keep returning to when I am in the right mood. With the rise in popularity of garage rock and roll over the last few years, I am surprised that she has not gotten the coverage or attention she deserves but this is definitley worth a dig out and listen.
 

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