7/10
Favorite Track: "Untitled" Least Favorite Track: "Alyssa"
No matter your musical leanings, it is easy to see that one of the fastest growing genres in modern music is bedroom pop. The accessible and relatable lyrics mostly penned by Gen Z artists seem to connect with an age of people who seem to hold a universal experience due to their growing interest in the internet, one of constantly being surrounded by people you know, but feeling as though you never truly connect with anyone on a personal level. Being tuned in all the time but never gaining a true connection harbors a feeling of isolation like no other, and the lyrical leanings of the bedroom pop scene focus heavily on the connections that mean the most to the artist, or the lack thereof.
While I personally enjoy a lot of the artists in the bedroom pop scene such as Rex Orange County and SALES, I do typically hold issues with the lack of versatility within the genre. The production is typically very lo-fi, with not a lot of variation in the basic instrumentation. Put together a short and sweet guitar loop, some electronic drums, and compression and you have yourself the basic indie/bedroom pop sound. Pair that with nearly every song being about some sort of love lost or a new love being found, and that is about the extent of how far the genre’s tropes go. Lance Redeker’s newest EP, Holbrook, suffers from a lot of the same derivative issues that most modern bedroom pop has, but is still a short and sweet EP that leaves me feeling satisfied.
This EP has a plethora of things at its disposal, and there are really no flaws on the surface. Lance’s voice, although a bit Rex Orange County-esque, is quite soothing and pretty, and it glides across the instrumentals here like a butter knife across a fresh layer of icing. The cake this icing is being applied to is not layered by any means, but the recipe used here is tried and true. The track “Untitled” is probably my favorite song on the record, with its beautiful guitar melody in the first half of the track and the intoxicatingly catchy wavering bass in the back of the track. The tracks that I enjoy on this EP mostly feature sweet guitar loops that are easy on the ears, especially after being utilized alongside Lance’s lovely vocals.
Where this record falters for me, apart from the basic bedroom pop nature, are the spots where Lance either attempts to branch out his vocals a bit too much, or he ends up sounding too similar to other indie pop artists. The track “Alyssa” shows Lance attempting a higher, whinier, register that really doesn’t fit his vocal style. Parts of the instrumentation on this track and the manner of the vocal delivery really remind me of parts of XXXTentacion’s “17”, with the nasally vocals that are a bit too abrasive to my ears. Fortunately for Lance, that is the only vocal delivery I truly am not a fan of, and the other spots that I can critique are solely for the derivative bedroom pop style.
Ultimately, Holbrook is a relatively fun EP, and the only place I can truly fault it are spots where it is a tad too derivative of other indie/bedroom pop artists. On Lance’s last single “Hold” he came through with an absolutely gorgeous acoustic ballad that is still one of my favorite tracks of the year, and comparatively speaking, these songs don’t feel nearly as personal or interesting as that track. More than anything, Holbrook is an easy listen that sports no issues other than some missed potential in my view.