Norwich’s Alt-Americana Troubadour Holly Lerski documents her self-rediscovery road trip across the American West.

Release Date:  26^th April 2024

Label: Laundry Label

Formats: CD / Digital

Born as Holly Elmshirst, Norwich-based alt-Americana troubadour, Holly Lerski, started to generate musical waves the moment that she paired up with guitarist Jo Baker, back in the mid-1990s, to form Angelou.  Inspired to a large extent by Jeff Buckley and, particularly, by Buckley’s definitive cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah – Angelou’s own cover of the song featured on their debut EP – Angelou went on to tour extensively in the UK and Europe and released a couple of albums – Automiracles (1998) and While You Were Sleeping (2000).

The third Angelou album, Life Is Beautiful was released under Lerski’s own name in 2003 and Angelou was formally disbanded in 2008.  Since then, Holly Lerski has forged ahead in her own right.  She launched her own imprint, Laundry Label, in 2009 and her most recent album, The Wooden House (2015 – recorded over a two-year period in her garden shed) was named one of the best folk albums of the year by both The Sunday Telegraph and The Independent on Sunday.

All was not well, however in Holly’s personal life and, following a painful breakup with an erstwhile partner, she set off in 2019 on a road/rail voyage of self-rediscovery along the western seaboard of the USA.  It was during that trip that the songs that form Sweet Decline were born and nurtured.  In Holly’s own words, the songs that have found their way onto the album represent “…both a fierce reckoning with self-doubt and a map of healing from the snowballing repercussions of disconnection.  The sound is rooted in folk storytelling tradition and edited with a keen pop ear; this is the sound of skinny-dipping in the river.  It’s the music of coming back to life after going through hell.”

And, happily, resurrection and rehabilitation are the sentiments that shine through most strongly from this collection of songs.  Holly isn’t afraid to confront her demons, but in just about every song, the listener is left with reason for hope and feeling of contentment.  These are well-considered, finely crafted songs and the restorative properties of the places she visited shine through in Holly’s voice, every minute of the album.

Holly doesn’t intend to hide behind any of the well-assembled instrumentation on the album – that much is clear from the opening rapid-fire acoustic guitar notes of opening track, Chicago.  Her voice is right upfront, whilst the lush strings provide a wonderful counterpoint to the rootsy guitars – it’s almost as though they’ve been left a hole of exactly the right size and shape to slot into – and the overall effect is rich, sophisticated and, overwhelmingly, open and free.

Previously released as a November 2020 single, Home on Your Shoulder is, alternately, folky and intimate, then urgent and poppy, awash with tinkly piano fills, whilst Carmel, another of the tracks to see early light of day as a single release, is the archetypal happy-go-lucky travel song.  Ukelele takes a leading role in the production, and its use emphasizes the carefree feel of the song – and Holly’s side-reference to Clint Eastwood (Carmel’s ex-mayor, remember) and the whoops and cheers from the band suggest that recording this song was a lot of fun, too.

Yosemite, a short interlude of ukelele and Flamenco-flavoured guitar provides the bridge into the bittersweet Tall Trees.  Percussion replicates the rustling of ancient pine trees as Holly laments the loss of her companion but, once again, positivity wins the day and there’s a vivid streak of contentment to Holly’s tones as she sings: “Tall trees stand for centuries, so will my love come back to me?”  And Holly sounds fresh and invigourated as she races through Oh Cassy Run, a bright, poppy affair with a full sound, before the mood settles back to gentle intimacy for the marvelous Nepenthe, one of the album’s truly outstanding tracks.  Holly’s percussive guitar chords are supplemented by velvety strings and a sharp drumbeat and she sounds suitably woozy and resigned as she sings the “You, you, you, you – you’re my nepenthe” coda.

Built around a fast guitar figure, Joshua Tree is another of the real highlights.  It’s bubbly and it’s frothy, as Holly finds delight in following a desert trail, upon which not even a “…rattlesnake shaking her booty at me” can dampen her spirit, before the odds are raised even higher by the album’s title track – and the latest of the preview singles.  A widescreen, folky ballad, it’s a fantastic song. Laced with confidently-strummed acoustic guitars, gorgeous slide guitar and a bass/drum rhythm that leaves the listener in no doubt; this is classic Americana, the equal of anything that you’ll hear from The Eagles, or even Lucinda herself.  Holly’s in-your-face, gentle-yet-assertive vocal (and – close your eyes and you can imagine it’s Lucinda Williams) is glorious and the organ that accompanies the “There’s a mountain range stuck in the middle” refrain is delicious.

Holly wrote Sweet Decline (the song) whilst traveling the scenic Highway 395 from Joshua Tree to Independence and she had this to say about the emotions that were still around by that stage of her journey: “By that point, I’d driven almost 3,000 miles.  There were these mountains up ahead that looked like a woman’s body lying down – an optical illusion.  It reminded me of my ex and I just started to miss her again.  Sierra Nevada was on my left, the desert on my right and Olancha, the town I was driving through, seemed on fire with golden aspen trees.  It was all breathtaking and I was thinking to myself, how did I end up here?  What happened to my life?  It had changed beyond recognition and, yet, it had been a sweet decline.”

Holly delivers perhaps what is her best vocal of the lot (and, believe me, the competition is tough…) on the bluesy Down At Deetjens.  It’s another song awash with smooth, perfectly comfortable, strings and Holly offers a nod in the direction of Paul Simon as she sings “Toss me a cigarette – I’ll smoke one for you.”  And that leaves us with just the album’s epic closing track, Girl In A High Castle to enjoy.  Written in a Dorset shepherd’s hut before Holly set out on her American sojourn, it’s a song that seems to cover just about every base, from contemplative voice-and-guitar folk via rich orchestration, before reaching an anthemic climax.  Holly’s off-the-wall lyrics and vocal delivery remind me of Suzanne Vega and it’s an altogether excellent song to conclude an excellent album.

Watch the official video to Sweet Decline – the album’s title track and latest single – here:

Holly Lerski online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

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