Review: Julia Holter, The Lantern

Whenever you come across an article about Julia Holter, the words avant-garde are sure to be mentioned in close proximity to her name, to the point where it’s almost become a bit of a cliché. With her very deliberate and delicate pronunciation, and themes encompassing French literature (see the concept album Loud City Song, inspired by Gigi – a 1944 Novella by French writer Colette), Ancient Greece and personal journeys of love, break ups, life and death, set to her unique electronicky, jazzy, moody ways, it’s easy to see why. 

The last time Holter performed in Bristol two years ago, we were privileged to the witness the most intimate of evenings at The Cube Cinema. In the time since then, her profile has rightly increased in line with the critical acclaim she has garnered, particularly with her latest album, Have You In My Wilderness. This sell-out performance at The Lantern bears testament to that.

With Holter on main vocals and keys, her backing band has been completely overhauled for this tour – drums / percussion, violin and stand-up electric bass. Gone is the brass section, a surprising turn.

Holter provides a fun, charming, sultry, even flirtatious presence on stage, her facial expressions accentuating her vocals. The set was opened with Sea Calls Me Home, the recorded version of which features an angular free-form saxophone solo. With no sax player in the band, Holter spikily jabs at her keyboard to give the song almost re-mixed dimension.

But then things take an unexpected turn for the worst. Prior to the second song, the violinist reports “this is not good” as she frantically tries to get her effects kit set up just right. Unfazed, Julia regales us with tales of her discovery of British cream teas and scones. After some time, she decides to fill the space with an unplanned solo version of He’s Running Through My Eyes. Effects kit fixed, we’re back on track with the Noirish How Long?, its dark, brooding strings to the fore.

In The Green Wild followed, then bang! – another glitch as the bass amp packed out. Unflinchingly, the rest of the band continue, bassless.

The rest of the gig runs pretty smoothly. Of the many highlights, the poppy Feel You is playfully sung, the soaring vocals of Silhouette fill the room and the chirpy Everytime Boots steps up the tempo. A re-imagined, hornless Horns Surrounding Me just about manages to live up to the exquisite horned version.

The final song of the set is Vasquez, and it’s magnificent, featuring an extended interlude with the bass, violin and keys intertwining, riffing and feeding off each other. 

The band are rapturously cheered off the stage, before a low key, one song encore of Betsy On The Roof finishes things off nicely as Holter lets rip with more of those trademark soaring vocals.