The Hollands! – The Last Dance
Dutchy Love Records – September 2018
The Hollands! (note the crazy exclamation mark – the reason for which I’m afraid eludes me) is a multi-national family band with roots in Australia and the States: self-styled “21st century nomadic travellers” who, though nominally based in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, nevertheless seem to be permanently on tour in their bus. As seasoned performers of some ten years’ standing, they regularly perform all over the US, Canada, Australia, and SE Asia – but as far as I know, they’ve yet to tour the UK.
Musically, The Hollands!’ stock-in-trade is Americana/gospel or revival-style folk: exuberant and melodic, civilised, elegantly performed and arranged – eminently likeable, indeed. The past decade has seen them release three albums – To Holland With Love, Ashes To Beauty and Over Land And Leas – but album number four, The Last Dance, represents my first encounter with their music. The recording’s established production standards are immediately apparent, and it’s easy to hear just why they have such a healthy reputation for engaging and involving audiences wherever they play, for their music is both inclusive and intimate, with lyrics that speak to all by offering inspiration and hope.
All but one of the album’s dozen tracks (this being Irish-Celtic prayer The Blessing by Samuel Horner) are Holland-originated compositions, although several of the songs clearly and unashamedly take their principal inspiration from specific, stated old-time or gospel sources. In some instances this entails direct quotation (Down To The River quotes liberally from the Oh Brother… standard Down To The River To Pray, for example), whereas in others it’s more a case of being loosely, or maybe even more closely, based on the source (Let It Be on the hymn The Sweet By And By; Good Lord Bird on the James McBride novel of that name concerning abolitionist John Brown; Little Birdie on a lullaby of Michigan/Dutch heritage often sung by Jana’s grandmother; Ocean Blue on My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean; and the title track on a poem by Jana herself), or just plain inspired by them (Refuge by an African spiritual, and All Through The Night by a Welsh folk lullaby). The remaining songs are described respectively by their writers as “genuine love songs” (Long Love and possible standout cut Love Forever) and “a song longing for love” (The Meadow). Jana’s lyrics in particular embrace what she terms a “poetic yet ground-level” mindset that’s both accessible and appealing, and the sanctified, religious element is refreshingly unforced, even played down, in the context of “speaking to the heart of what really matters in this life” with a commendable economy of expression.
The band’s personnel comprises Craig Holland (guitars), Jana Holland (mandolin), Graciana Holland (piano) and youngest member Banjo Holland (cajon). Vocals are the sole province of the mother-daughter team of Jana and Graciana, with Jana taking the lead on seven of the tracks, Graciana on three and both ladies sharing vocal duties on the remaining two. Compositional credits furnish the main clue in this respect, with Graciana invariably taking the lead role on her own songs for instance. But it’s the natural, gentle thrust of those familial harmonies that proves a notable feature of the group sound on the majority of their songs, and a key element on several. For on a purely instrumental basis, despite the obvious level of accomplishment on display, there’s something basic and unfussy about the Hollands’ music-making, with no sign of grandstanding or note-spinning showing-off. The presence of guest musicians is sparingly and sensitively applied too – there are telling contributions from Cameron Henderson (Middle Kids), Jeff Kurtenacker (Wildstar), Jeffrey Niemeier (Fauxgrass), Colleen Davick, and album producer Chris Gillespie.
All in all, The Last Dance is a pleasing introduction to a pleasing outfit, one that’s found and developed its niche and stuck to it, continuing to satisfy a loyal and appreciative audience with skilled, honest-to-goodness, if at times slightly understated writing and musicianship.
Photo Credit: Publicity photo by Nick Styles