Holly Arrowsmith has been a fixture in Aotearoa’s alt-country since 2017 when she released her Tūī-winning debut album ‘For the Weary Traveller’.
Her new album ‘Blue Dreams’ is a follow up to 2018’s ‘A Dawn I Remember’ and the 2021 single All My Lucky Stars Are Gone. ‘Blue Dreams’ has a tradition of Americana rolling through it, with expansive imagery and storytelling at the forefront, and sonic traces of Neko Case and Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins) in the vocal phrasing and tonal shifts.
It’s also a personal record that on the title track examines parenthood and keeping a sense of self with a new baby. Arrowsmith frequently combines the bright with the dark: Neon Bright’s upbeat country pop backing contrasts to lyrics about depression and isolation while Desert Dove (winner of the 2024 APRA Best Country Music song award) is a song of loss and grief, inspired by the death of her grandfather who ran an antiques shop in Mexico.
Many of Arrowsmith’s songs have a feeling of movement and propulsion, and while the album is mostly driven by country guitars, when she lets loose on rhythmically driven songs like Red Lit Room the energy changes, and the album becomes more alt than country.
There are quiet moments too though, as with Something Small, where the fragile (and beautifully harmonised) nature of the song offers a moment of contemplation.
With rich, dynamic performances by Arrowsmith’s well known musicians (Tom Healy, Alex Freer, Anita Clarke and Cass Basil), and rich production by Healy, ‘Blue Dreams’ is an elegant album from Arrowsmith, and a welcome reminder that she is a contender in Aotearoa’s ever deepening and developing genre of alt-country. Highly recommended.
