Search - Claire Holley :: Hush

"The slight catch in Holley s voice can break your heart, Time Out New York proclaimed, and this is especially true in the songs on Hush, Claire Holley s latest, much anticipated release. The comforts of a friend s home provided the right environment for recording this new collection of songs. While featuring some of the finest musicians on the West Coast, the songs on Hush pay homage to Holley s roots back South. A native Mississippian, Holley spent several productive years absorbing the rich variety of music in North Carolina, where she garnered national acclaim with two releases from Chapel Hill s Yep Roc Records. Her self-titled debut and a previous collection of hymns titled Sanctuary were featured on NPR s Weekend Edition with Liane Hansen. Though Holley savors the funky vibe of her Silverlake neighborhood in LA, her songs still draw on her talent for southern storytelling. The haunting narrative of Wedding Day hints at some strange event unfolding. In Visit Me, Holley relishes the quiet and the simplicity of a remote Alabama cottage; in Another Day the beauty of seeing the world through a child s eyes. Simple Meals pays homage to domestic comforts, while Leaving This Town gives voice to a restlessness, a desire for adventure. Most of the basic tracks were recorded live in a friend s high ceilinged living room in Glendale, CA, with an upstairs bedroom serving as the control room. The album features locals, Greg Leisz, whose pedal steel swims in the opening track, and Don Heffington, whose restrained touch on the drums gives a laid back vibe to songs like Simple Meals and Under the Moon. In addition to the release of Hush, this year Holley composed music for an independent film, The Fence, which was a recipient of the 2008 UCLA Directors Spotlight Award. Two of her songs have appeared on ABC s Men in Trees, and she was nominated by the LA Weekly for Best Original Music for the songs she wrote for See Rock City, a play by Arlene Hutton that premiered in Los Angeles in 2006. This April 2009, Claire travels to her home state to join Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kate Campbell and Caroline Herring for a concert in association with the Eudora Welty Centennial Celebration.