Search - Mark Hollis :: Mark Hollis

Jazz noir

todd | WA USA | 07/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Hollis - s/t (1998) His first and only solo and its somewhat a continuation of the last couple of Talk Talk albums, only more stark, more intimate. The instruments sound very closely mic'd, like an acoustic jazz album. It has the same jazz flourishes here and there that you'd find on Spirit Of Eden, but this album is even more of a minimalist approach. A true album experience in that the album plays more like a song cycle in theme and mood - each track has its own identity, but all tracks flow seemlessly into one another like a movie soundtrack. Hollis' vocals flint in and out like a muted trombone, and although they carry the tone and meaning of a particular song, the vocals are rarely the centerpiece but on a few songs. Its completely mesmerizing.



Surely, this (and Talk Talk) must have influenced recent efforts by newer acts like Bon Iver and Shearwater. Unfortunately, music like this barely exists, if only in the few collections lucky enough to have it. Since it never shoots for a mainstream single, I doubt it got but a smidgen of airplay. Too moody for adult contemporary, too artsy for smooth jazz, too good for pop. It gets labeled alternative, but nothing on this album owes a thing to rock. Any fan of the brooding, ambient jazz noir of the early-mid '60s will like this music.

"

Simply an amazing album, most highly reccommended

M. Gallichio | Melbourne, Australia | 01/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is, and has been for a few years now, my favourite album that I've come across. It may just be me, but I feel that Mark Hollis has through this work been able to tap into an emotional vault that is accessible to all willing listeners. He explores loneliness, hopefulness, solitude and spirituality, which are themes that I have picked up not so much through the lyrical content but rather by the methods through which the songs are composed, and the chordal arrangements between the instruments that have been adapted to song. The album is beautifully recorded and produced; a minimal amount of microphones have been used on the album to its benefit, as it reflects and adds to the thematic direction that Hollis employs in his songwriting. This is not an album for the weak-hearted. It is one that reaches deep into the realms of personal expression and pathos, and may resonate with potentially dark emotions and feelings that one may not which to explore. Mark Hollis is capable of doing this so deftly, it's somewhat of a worry. It's no surprise that he retired a few years after this album's release, not as though he'd be unable to top it, but anything less genuine would have been treacherous to his mission, and anything more may have driven him to insanity. This is the sort of album that you listen to on your own, so that you can allow it to converse with you, allow it negotiate with the workings of your psyche, which is where it has come from within the depths of Mark Hollis' mind. It's a beautiful album, complex yet simple, light yet dark, but definitely something that must be observed by an attentive ear. Be warned, it may not be for everyone, music aside."