bruises

bruises

Heady hooks and anxious energy drive the debut album from Sydney bedroom artist Jess Holt. As total tommy, Holt picks away at the intricacies of love, lust, infatuation and friendship over satisfyingly noisy dream pop. Fans of Snail Mail and Alvvays will appreciate the balance of shoegazing layers and incisive lyrics on bruises, with tracks “REAL” and “SODA” especially capturing the head rush of emotional immediacy. Produced by Mark Zito (aka Fractures) and mixed by Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Fontaines D.C.), Holt’s spacious debut single “microdose” at once celebrates and mocks the habit of abruptly diving into a new relationship. Holt has described total tommy as the result of coming out as queer and spending time alone in a new city while also partying and falling in love. That vividness of youthful experience rings out loud and clear here, not just in the heated come-ons (see the thirsty “Plus One”) but also the casual trash-talking of “Losing Out”, “Ghost” and “SPIDER”. While the latter channels oversaturated ’90s alt-rock to hammer home its titular metaphor for an overly clingy person, Holt is never beholden to any one mode for long. Just like her lyrics cover a see-sawing range of feelings, these songs careen into new sounds with exciting suddenness.

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