Holly Clausius is a young singer from the small Ontario town of Exeter. She just released her debut EP in hopes to find a market in Toronto and other places nearby. The cover is very colourful and radiant with the hopes of that sound emanating from this artist. Her style is simple and has that millennial folk style to it. Her voice definitely stands out when you begin to listen to her songs. It may sound simple, but her tonality is quite complex. At first I found it had a charming mousy quality to it, with that little scratch that that adds some flavor. It comes off as sweet and cleanly involved. There are moments as soothing as chamomile tea and as sharp as a sewing needle.
Holly opens with her title song, “Sunflower”. It radiates positive, virtuous youthful power that is very encouraging and caring. It starts off quite simple and is slowly built by adding in extra sounds, that you may not even notice. It has a very natural feel to it. This could be the one that people would sing around a campfire on a warm summer’s eve.
“Yellow Dress”, looks at the trepidations of new emotions emerging and not knowing what to do with them. The fear and courage you must find to reveal yourself to another knowing full well that it may come back unrequited.
“Leo’s Song” is a fun little quirky song. This one is more full flavoured with a little Spanish guitar, some piano and some light percussions filling in the songs at all the right moments. This is all about a relationship between two beings that have agreed to certain rules early in their relationship, but one party finds out how much work it is to keep cleaning up one’s poor behavior. HaHa, we have all been there, done that…
The next song, for me, is the stand out track of this EP.”Fast Forward”. It is a very lovely and pensive tune that truly reveals the impatience of our youth. The need to know what will happen in the future. Let me know now, so I know how to invest in my present state. Holly’s vocals are very clean and strong on this one.
The last song is like having a great Car Tune playing on a fun road trip. This one is mellow, but it does make you want to sing along with your best friend in the back seat. The idea of feeling safe really sums up this EP. The level of gratitude and the foundation of feeling secure is profound throughout these five songs. I believe Holly’s message is quite clear. She wants to spread her sounds of joy, and to make as many friends along the way. If she were Bill and Ted, she would say “Be Excellent to one another”. If she were Ellen she would say, “Be kind to one another”. As Holly, I think she says “Let’s get to know one another”.
Here are some images taken by Tiffany Tremaine of Holly Clausius:
To hear her songs and add them to your collection go to… https://open.spotify.com/album/42HQdyJvSpuw0gH33ALo9q?si=H5825EYDS5SFatOT_WxD5g