Julia Holter garnered some serious hype surrounding for upcoming record Have You In My Wilderness, with the release of her single “Feel You”. The Los Angeles songwriter has upped that hype with the release of her second single, “Sea Calls Me Home”.
“Sea Calls Me Home” recalls Holter’s proclivity for translating dense instrumentation into relatable composition. You can hear the smooth strings of the double bass rattling against the flat fretboard as Holter whistles the melody into what feels like an unending void running beneath gentle strokes on the harpsichord. The song has an unmistakable bigness that somehow doesn’t allow it to get too “beyond” the listener. That’s to say that the really simple drumming and big harmonies give it a really down to earth quality that’s often rare when it comes to songs that aren’t instrumentally passive; almost like it could be happening in your living room. Throughout the song, Holter uses each sound, not wasting anything, leaving “Sea Calls Me Home” strong, surgical, and evocative.
The song climaxes with this soaring and aggressive, right out of Moondance, saxophone solo. Production wise, rather than take the direct route with it the solo, it eventually starts playing with this fugue that’s dizzying in a manner indicative of it’s own beauty. The notes squeak and growl into a final run through of the chorus where faint violin arpeggios and the songs pounding rhythm fade out into a melody not heard throughout the song while Holter nearly whispers “I hear small words from the shore// No recognizeable pattern.”
