Kevin Holm-Hudson – Milkweed
Kevin Holm-Hudson – Milkweed – Album Review
When Asclepias would likely be confused with some kind of ancient Greek God, go with Milkweed.
Though, after having a listen to this record over this past week, I certainly wouldn’t put it past Kevin Holm-Hudson to write about ancient Greece…or pretty much anything else under the sun really. Dude’s clearly got widespread interests & finds a range of inspiration in all kind of interesting places…I dig that.
As “Tree Cathedral Morning” started up the album, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels to the vibe I used to get from The Shins back in the day when I was standing at the ol’ video rental store counter, bracing myself for the next customer. We used to have these loop tapes overhead that would play the advertisements for whatever came out that week, and eventually they started sneaking the occasional music video from some soundtrack on them so that we wouldn’t go insane. Then you realize that these tapes were like, thirty minutes long, which meant you got exposed to whatever was on them sixteen times within an eight hour shift, and that nothing could stop the insanity of repetition from creeping in. Anyhow. It’s pleasant. I got no beef with “Tree Cathedral Morning.” Bright energy to reflect the dawn of the day, big bold vocals…I like the piano that eventually comes into play, and the melody itself works really well. It’s a warm and inviting introduction to Kevin’s music if you haven’t heard him before, which I think could be a few of us out there…from what I can tell, it appears that Milkweed is the man’s third album, and the first that he’s released after dropping the ‘Dr.’ from his moniker. Should I be asking about that? I was always under the impression that once you got that title, you’d never surrender it.
I’m probably much more partial to the following track, “Prayers Of The Gentle” for a couple of reasons. I could cite the bend of the melody in the main hooks as Kevin transitions into the chorus, or even the instrumentation from the guitar as he transitions out of it…both of those spots make the magic happen as far as I’m concerned. That being said, for my money, the price of admission here is covered by the drums of David Chapman…he’s got a snare with a sound that is absolutely priceless and I’d listen to it all day, every day, if I had the option to. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of great things about this tune when it comes right down to it, and I’m not even here to tell ya that Chapman is rocking the kit so hard that you won’t notice anything else…I’m simply tellin’ ya I’m addicted to the actual sound of the drums in this tune, full stop. When it comes to “Prayers Of The Gentle,” Kevin reminds me a lot more of the Geffen-worthy humbleness in early Beck, crossed with the themes & lyricism you’d probably find in something like Iron & Wine. It makes for quite the compelling combination of sounds together really; I love the imagery that Holm-Hudson uses in his words, and I feel like the earnest melody you’ll find at the heart of “Prayers Of The Gentle” will have no problem at all making a favorable impression on listeners.
“Relativity No. 1” is one of those tunes where you have to acknowledge that it’s really well made, but also understand that we’re talkin’ about something that’ll appeal very specifically to the Folk Music crowd without much potential for crossover or drawing in people outside of the genre. Which ain’t a problem – if you’re Kevin, and Folk is what you do, then do it and let the chips fall where they may I say. But yeah…it’s more niche than he might even realize…like, if there is any crossover appeal here, it’s with the hobby of LARPing, you feel me? Again, no judgments here if that’s your jam – you do you – I’m just saying that there’s almost a medieval melody and vibe goin’ on here…a highly learned sound that is not shy to reveal its educated expressions. Lest we forget, that at least at one point in time, and presumably still, Kevin was/is a doctor whether he labels himself that in his music, or not. In any event, I appreciate the level of detail he puts into his words & that the sound of something like “Relativity No. 1” is notably different than a lot of what you’d hear out there today, even if that makes the battle to be heard a bit more uphill for an artist like Kevin Holm-Hudson in terms of reaching the masses overall. You can practically see the old dance-scenes from the BBC’s Pride And Prejudice happening while you listen to this tune. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, it’s just gently against the grain of the modern era.
Ultimately, I’d be the first to tell ya that Kevin’s lyricism is genuinely one of his main assets, if not the main feature of his music bar-none. It might fly right over most people’s heads in a lot of ways from his word-selection to the meanings behind his lyrics and stories sung, but that shouldn’t be anything that stops him from doing what comes naturally to him. As I always tell ya, there are more than enough folks out there that’ll get whatever it is you’re up to, so keep on doing what you’d do, how you’d do it. For my own personal taste, I went a bit back and forth on “Summer Dreams” – sometimes I loved it, and there were other times where I felt like Kevin left a bit on the table with this tune. There is a point where I tend to feel like the melody in the music and vocals need to find their own separate path to be able to work together effectively, and when they start wandering down similar patterns, there can be risk involved of things matching up a bit too much, know what I mean? It’s like you get a double-dose of the melody in a song like “Summer Dreams” without as much deviation as you’d wanna hear so that you can come back and hear something new in it fifteen times later as you keep spinning the record. Songs like “Summer Dreams” lack a bit of that dimensional depth you wanna find to a degree I suppose, though I’d again, be the first to tell you that the song sounds plenty pleasant and like a natural fit too. I guess it’s kind of like giving away the plot of a movie in a way…or seeing a film for a second time – we know exactly what to expect outta this tune after a single tour through it, and while that can certainly be comforting on one level, it’s a bit predictable on the other. It’s really well-played and executed though.
“It’s glaringly obvious to see” that Kevin’s a modern-day poet using music as the vehicle for his writing – you couldn’t miss that fact when listening to a track like “Paradoxes.” On the one hand here, I felt like we get a song that is noticeably different than the rest of what we experienced on this album so far, and I feel like that’s advantageous…our ears pay attention to the shift and appreciate the uniqueness. On the other hand…I never really felt like I knew what to make of Kevin’s vocals on this tune. He’s making stylistic choices here…no different than things we’ve heard in tracks from the mainstream in songs by Ben Folds, or the independents like Nate Jacobucci…there are moments that work brilliantly, and others that might color a bit too far outside of the lines for the masses to fully understand. They might accept what Kevin’s doing here, and they might not – and whenever you’re singing in a more stylistic way that’s more focused on performance than tone, you run that risk. I always assume that the artists and bands that go in a direction like this understand that though, and that they’re prepared to live with the results. With the context of being able to hear Kevin sing so spot on at other points in other songs, we know that he’s got a looser track in that regard with “Paradoxes” on a tonal level, but if you were just tuning into this one tune as an example of what Holm-Hudson does, you might have a totally different opinion of his music – make sense? Lyrically, “Paradoxes” would be right up there with my favorites on this album, and I think there’s a lot of interesting ideas in the music that mix curious & mysterious sounds together in a very appealing way. The sound-selection in this tune is great, and the piano solo you’ll find is too.
“Star” is probably one of my favorite tracks all-around from every angle. I really like the poetry of Kevin’s words, which is somewhat of a given at this point…but it really fits a track like this one. You’ll get some perspective from outer-space, you’ll get some perspective from here on the ground, and overall, I feel like you’ll find one of the complete ideas and engaging stories on Milkweed. You can feel the heavily filtered sound make its impact on the contemplative weight in the mood of this song right away, but you’ll also find Kevin shifting things around very cleverly through the production and effects he uses on “Star” too, which gives it brilliant level of distance that fluctuates between being really close up where it counts, and sounding like it’s a million miles away to further the theme as well. Vocally, I also think that you get one of Kevin’s strongest and most focused performances on the microphone as well. Like I was tellin’ ya, it’s as complete as complete can be…and I feel like it gives listeners one of the best opportunities to appreciate his lyricism, melodies, and songwriting together as one. While pointing out the failings of what’s happening on the surface of Earth, and reminding us that there is an endless amount of inspiration above us, where “you can admire the beauty where you are” – that dimensional depth that makes you wanna come back for multiple spins is completely on display in the warm “celestial glow” of “Star.” For real, you’ll get something different out of this song each and every time you listen to it, and ultimately whenever that’s the case, you increase the lifespan and reach of a song. You name it & it went right for Kevin on this song…I’d go as far as to say this is a truly flawless moment on his new album…it’s a track that exemplifies the amount of thought he puts into his words and music.
“Mary” is another solid example of his stellar execution and subtle poetry at work. Definitely reminiscent of something you’d find from the good ol’ Sam Beam school of songwriting, “Mary” is one of those tunes on Milkweed that I feel like I appreciate more for its artistry than I’m particularly drawn to listen to it. You could cite a combination of James Taylor-meets-Neil Young and I’d accept that here – or you could go underneath the surface of the mainstream into Indie heroes like Sparklehorse or Grandaddy…”Mary” is a bit of a prism in that regard, reflecting different comparisons back through its melody and sweetness from every angle you examine it from. You can’t help but admire the melodic beauty and carefully crafted composition of a track like “Mary” – and it’ll be interesting to see how the people out there react to this track. When I heard “she had words about birds” at the start I was almost immediately out…but in the end, despite the strict adherence to the rhyme-scheme in this tune, I was thankful I stuck around. The “small details would prevail” and stack up to a genuinely fascinating song in “Mary” overall. The backing vocals are a great addition to this tune, and I mean, c’mon…how could I not appreciate “Mary” on some level as a Canadian when Dan Ward has captured the water & wind straight out of Tobermory, Ontario to add into this tune! Like I’ve been tellin’ ya, Kevin’s got plenty of ideas that make his music unique, and the cast of additional players on this album greatly assist in enhancing the songs he’s written through the various roles they play as they get revealed in the set-list of Milkweed.
I’d have to say that “The Season Spiral” definitely seems appropriate right now, given that I’m looking out the window at the first enormous snowstorm of the year here in British Columbia, where we’re based out of. We’re riding “The Season Spiral,” to say the very least at the moment – there is snow absolutely everywhere you look in this province right now. Thankfully, Kevin’s here with a warm and inviting, friendly and quaint sound that spans through all seasons…so at least I can remember what it was like to be warm for a moment or two as I stare out through the window at the freezing cold. All-in-all, the quality of Kevin’s execution keeps to a high standard no matter which track you tune into, but at the same time, I feel like there are going to be tracks like “The Season Spiral” that probably require a level of listening that’s fairly lost in the world we’re living in right now. With as gentle as “The Season Spiral” is in sound, it’s hard to say whether or not people will have the patience to appreciate the work that has been put into Kevin’s words, no matter how much the effort deserves it. Tracks that are driven by lyricism like this one is are akin to reading and learning these days, and good lord knows how people feel about that stuff, assuming they’ve looked up from their phones & Tik Tok long enough to comment. It’s a pretty song though…hopefully it gets its due credit and attention…Kevin crafts a clever tune, 100%.
Save for the fact that folks are going to think he’s about to cover Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” for a moment as “The Silver Shore” begins, I’d probably argue this is another track that provides diversity to the sound in this particular lineup on Milkweed. In my personal opinion, Kevin seems to do his best work when he’s got a bit more length to operate like you’ll find on “Star” or “The Silver Shore,” and when he’s examining melodies that have a bit more depth & weight to them. You can’t help but feel the emotion that beams through the music of “The Silver Shore” and feel affected by it as you listen. Ultimately, I think the interpretations of an evocative melody like this will be different depending on the individual and how they interpret it internally, but I do believe that there’s a universal quality to sound like this that we all connect to on some level in the same way. “The Silver Shore” isn’t necessarily a sad song, but I would understand it if people heard it that way…it does have more of a forlorn type of melody to it that will likely dominate how folks interpret what this song is about…but…I think if you’re listening closely, you’ll find that a track like this ain’t without hope, beauty, peace, and serenity inside of this moment as well. Sure, Kevin’s reflecting on what I suppose would be the final phase of life with the scattering of his ashes and whatnot, but there’s nothing morbid about “The Silver Shore” from what I took in it, so much as it’s about being placed to rest in the spot you connected with the most to lay inside of peace truly deserved. Like I said, there could be many interpretations of what Kevin’s singing about, and I think that works to his advantage when it comes right down to it, but I’m tellin’ ya, this song is more beautiful than it is sad.
Kevin opts for a more classic approach to “Mountain” that drifts closer to the kind of ballads you’d expect to find in the catalogs of Springsteen, Petty, or John, without going too far out of his folk realm. I’d also listen to an argument that he sounds a bit like a low-key version of Semisonic too if there’s anyone that feels like making one – any takers? The birds you hear chirping away on “Mountain” actually come all the way from Tongariro National Park in New Zealand…which really makes this an international record when you think of all the different ways that Kevin has collaborated with nature in the background of his tunes. “Mountain” is a sweet tune that gets some of the very best melody out of Holm-Hudson in my opinion. I found this track to be gently mesmerizing in all the right ways. Sure there are moments that are filled in a bit more with different instrumentation & whatnot, but it’s actually the more spare moments that connect the strongest here. Like, when it’s just a piano, some birds, and the man on the microphone, we get some of the most significant highlights outta Kevin. His imagery remains an asset and ally to his lyricism – Kevin paints words into pictures we can see in our minds, and I think a lot of people out there will genuine appreciate that in his music. I also felt like the transition into the chorus and hooks made a positive impact on the melody too, though again, I felt like the most powerful moments of “Mountain” resonated through the least amount of ingredients in the mix. “Stay quiet and you’ll hear it,” as Kevin sings…and though it’s not what he’s referring to, you’ll discover the real magic of his music on “Mountain” through the same means…so pay attention, this is a big win here.
Chances are, “El Brujo” will become a fan favorite by just about everyone listening. I’m not necessarily saying that’s a result of the hooks you’ll find here…in fact, I think we could probably debate back and forth about how crucial they are to a song like this, or not. To me, this is completely about creating a song that’s undeniably interesting to our ears on a universal level. Whether it’s the storytelling aspect of Kevin’s words, or the mysterious vibe that drifts in on the wind in the melody of this song, or the tribal chanting, or the Native American flute arrangements from Dan Ward…”El Brujo” plods along like we’re on horseback taking in the scenery with no sense of urgency to reach the destination we’re making our way towards. So…you end up being like…extremely present and in the moment as you listen to “El Brujo,” because it’s authentically fascinating, stoic, exotic, and strong – all at once. That combination of tribalism and folk together is as tried, tested, and true as peanut butter and jelly – and in the line of artists that have broken ground in that regard like Robbie Robertson, you’ll find that the potent atmosphere, the confidence in the material, and the melody that is threaded into this tune adds up to songwriting & a performance that could only be considered award-worthy. Like…for real…I don’t have the right words to detail just how much I love this moment on Milkweed – “El Brujo” is nearly eight minutes long, and it arguably has the LEAST amount of deviation in its structure from start to finish. You know WHY that is y’all? Purely because it doesn’t NEED it. “El Brujo” is one of the best examples I could cite about going where the song takes you, and giving the moment everything it needs. There is nothing extraneous here, and “El Brujo” leaves you wanting nothing more. Perhaps the best surprise of all, is the fact that you’ll likely feel like I did about it, and STILL want another ten minutes of it, even though you’ve had nearly eight of “El Brujo” already! To want MORE of a song at this massive length is seriously impressive…and that’s the reality here…you’re going to want to spend a whole lot of time with “El Brujo” even though it makes the least amount of changes of pretty much any tune in this lineup. I don’t know how Kevin pulled that off exactly, all I can tell ya is that “El Brujo” was a track I couldn’t take my ears off of, and found that every time it came back around on repeat, it retained its fascinating vibe. If there’s a stronger song on Milkweed, I’m not sure what it is…”El Brujo” is a modern Folk masterpiece.
It’s such a strong moment in time, that “El Brujo” is essentially impossible to follow. “If I Could Tell You” might have succeeded somewhere else in the lineup…maybe…it’s hard to say…but it’s going to have an extremely tough time finding the audience it would potentially deserve coming after the album’s best song. Drawing on a much more airy melody that’s like easy listening Pop/Folk somewhere in the realm of The Monkees or Peter, Paul and Mary…bah…don’t get me wrong, I have love for those comparisons too and I really don’t mind “If I Could Tell You” on the whole…but it absolutely feels like we’re taking a massive step backwards coming out of the epic nature of “El Brujo” right beforehand. So like…Kevin has primed our ears for that immaculately authentic Folk uniqueness, and we end up in a very mayonnaise type of tune that’s nearly on the edge of old Gospel tunes you’d sing out loud in church. Again, no disrespect to that if that’s your jam – have at it, and turn it up loud & proud if you’re feeling so inclined – all I’m saying is that one you establish a level of pure excellence and interest like Holm-Hudson does on “El Brujo,” it’s completely natural that we’d crave more of that, not less. Less is what you get in “If I Could Tell You” – we head into familiar terrain that has been tackled much more often melodically on this song, and that bold uniqueness we were enjoying only moments before has been exchanged for a much more standard type of tune. The quality in the execution is still there, but the rest is way paler.
I like “Milkwood Lullaby” and felt like we at least get that buffer of “If I Could Tell You” to make this final moment a bit more palatable…but…yeah man…I gotta call things like I hear’em and say I’m definitely questioning the layout of this record a lot by the time it’s over. While I do like “Milkwood Lullaby” as a quaint and sweet finish to this album for Kevin, it’s still harder to argue that either of the last two tunes furthers the album beyond the climax of “El Brujo.” Take up your pitchforks and come at me if you wanna – I’m just the messenger, I assure you – you can blame me if you want to, but KEVIN wrote the magnificence of “El Brujo,” not me. “Milkwood Lullaby” is honestly one of my favorite tracks on the sweeter side of his sound, and indeed on this album overall when it comes to the melody you’ll find…and I feel like if it had the advantage of being in a different spot in the lineup, it might potentially make a more substantial impact on listeners, or not be passed over as it might be as a result of where it appears in this set-list. Hopefully I’m wrong about that…hopefully people hear “Milkwood Lullaby” and it gets its due credit for being the amazing song that it is. I’d probably go with a top three along the lines of “El Brujo,” “Star,” and then “Milkwood Lullaby” if I’m being honest with ya – it’s absolutely that good in my personal opinion…though I feel like tracks like “Prayers Of The Gentle,” “The Silver Shore,” and even “Mountain” might get more traction with listeners as a result of where they sit in this lineup. That’s why artists and bands agonize over those kind of details…they can be crucial to how much a song can be heard at the end of day. All I know is that “Milkwood Lullaby” was spellbindingly beautiful and a stunning melody to go out on. I might not be able to argue that it raises the stakes any further than “El Brujo” did earlier on, but I can confirm that this last track should have you reaching for repeat, instantly.
Find out more about Kevin Holm-Hudson from his official page at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HolmHudsonMusic
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