Sydney-sider Holly Throsby is back with her fifth studio album, yet another fine showcase of her renowned folk-pop expertise.
Sydney-sider Holly Throsby is back with her fifth studio album, yet another fine showcase of her renowned folk-pop expertise. Short, sharp and ultimately charming, the songstress traipses familiar territory with great success. Team conceals an intriguing motif, its collection of sentiments seemingly directed at another – a particular individual existing closely alongside Throsby, that is – as the record unpacks the ideas and the emotional complexities behind notions of togetherness. Team sees Throsby continually straddle the border of innocence and maturity, her sonic approach exuding the former and her songwriting craft the latter in one masterful meeting of worlds.
There’s much about Team to love, its warm appeal curated through a beautifully delicate aesthetic. An acoustic approach underpins Team’s charms, the result proving effortlessly, disarmingly romantic. There’s everything to ensure an inviting, personable experience, from the sweeping, optimistic strings of It’s Only Need, to the sweet declaration of leading single Here Is My Co-Pilot, “Here is the team I’ve got, here is my co-pilot”.
The latter imposes itself as the black sheep of Team, but that only contributes to it’s allure as one of the record’s essential additions. After all, on the whole, Team is often so typically Throsby: if you’re familiar with her body of work, you’ll know not to expect anything too rousing. Instead, the songstress offers another gentle album that boasts perfect poise and the utmost care in its sonic intricacies.
Whether this is to be commended or not will be entirely up to the individual listener. It seems that evolution has been neglected since previous outings and, given in particular the past promise of the shambolic pop cut One Of You For Me, this may come as a surprise. But Team remains nevertheless an enjoyable exercise in that which Throsby does best. The record necessitates some degree of persistence to discover each song as its own delight, but then a planned return is perhaps the only way to approach the album. It’s an evocative affair, every lyric and idea infused with rich sentiment in a record that bears a unique intimacy bound to resonate beyond first impressions.
Best track: Here Is My Co-Pilot
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Somewhere Anywhere NEW BUFFALO, We Were Here JOSHUA RADIN
In A Word: Cute.
Label : Spunk
NICK MASON
