Have You In My Wilderness

''Have You in My Wilderness'' is the fourth studio album by American musician Julia Holter, released on September 25, 2015, by Domino Recording Company. Co-produced by Holter and Cole M.G.N., the album was preceded by the singles "Feel You" and "Sea Calls Me Home". Two further videos followed its release, for the tracks "Silhouette" and "Everytime Boots".

The album was released to widespread critical acclaim, placing highly on several music critics' end-of-year lists, and increased Holter's exposure significantly.

Writing and composition

Unlike Holter's previous studio album, '' Loud City Song'' (2013), a concept album loosely inspired by the 1958 film, '' Gigi'', ''Have You in My Wilderness'' is not linked by a unified narrative. Prior to the album's release, Holter noted: "It's more like '' Ekstasis'' than the last record. ..For me it's easier to come up with this single story that ties everything together, so it was harder to do this record: to do something where I have to make up stories for every song."

Regarding the writing process for her lyrics, Holter noted, "I basically just write stream of consciousness to a certain extent, I let the song kind of go where it wants to go. I don't think that's a new idea, at all, but I think that maybe I do it to an extreme". Both "Sea Calls Me Home" and "Betsy on the Roof" were written years prior to recording and often performed during Holter's live performances. "Lucette Stranded on the Island" was influenced by Colette's novella, ''Chance Acquaintances'', while novelist Christopher Isherwood's recurring fictional character, Sally Bowles, was an influence in writing "How Long?".

Holter cites Scott Walker's song, "Duchess", as a key influence on the album, noting: "Somehow that song captures what I was trying to do on a larger level: this warm, golden group of love songs. That was what I had in mind, utin the end I don't think it comes across."

Recording

The recording process for ''Have You in My Wilderness'' took much longer than initially expected: "It took a really long time. We had to record many times. It was frustrating. The last one was so easy to make, in a way, and this record was this troubled child. It was ''so'' hard." Holter credits producer Cole M.G.N. with foregrounding her vocals on the album, noting " ereally pushed me to let the vocals be in the forefront. He pushed me to really bring out the vocals because I tend to not do that. I usually like to hide my vocals behind the music".

Holter recorded the album with the idea of expanding upon her sound: "All of my projects are very different, in my mind, but this one's working in a tradition of 60s ballads. I really wanted to have this big sound, although it doesn't mean I'm going to make music that sounds like that again."

Promotion

The album's first single, "Feel You", was released on July 9, 2015, as well an accompanying music video. The album's second single, "Sea Calls Me Home", was released on August 26, 2015. The music video for the song, "Silhouette", was released on November 18, 2015, while the music video for "Everytime Boots", was released on February 11, 2016.

Critical reception

''Have You in My Wilderness'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 28 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Heather Phares of AllMusic said, "While it's tempting to say ''Have You in My Wilderness'' is her most personal music yet, it might be more accurate to say that it's her most approachable: this time, her brilliance demands a lot from her listeners, but also meets them more than halfway". Adam Kivel of ''Consequence'' said, "She doesn't convey specific messages or exhaustively detail narratives, but to listen to each song on ''Have You in My Wilderness'' is to inhabit a feeling in all of its pain and all of its glory". Cam Lindsay of ''Exclaim!'' said, "''Have You in My Wilderness'' finds Holter narrowing her focus a little. In doing so, she gets the best of both worlds, showing off her ability to write warm and breezy pop music while maintaining the complexity, and perplexity, that made her so intriguing to begin with". Alexis Petridis of ''The Guardian'' said, "The result is a genuinely exceptional and entrancing album, opaque but effective, filled with beautiful, skewed songs, unconventional without ever feeling precious or affected". Rob Mesure of ''MusicOMH'' said, "This may well be Holter's most accessible album to date, but it's this very approachability that renders it all the more intriguing, drawing you in with open arms. Stately and serene, it's a wilderness that begs to be inhabited for some time, a country you'll be reluctant to leave". ''Mojo'' stated, "This is not a record that wants or needs to be solved, but the clues and traces it leaves behind are so compelling it's difficult to let it alone". ''NME'' stated, "An intense, emotional record".

Winston Cook-Wilson of ''Pitchfork'' said, "''Have You in My Wilderness'' embraces the specific, rather than the eternal, and in her narrowed focus you can sense a palpable self-confidence and a hard-won precision". '' Q'' stated, "An album that repeatedly pulls you back in to try and decipher its charms". Will Hermes of ''Rolling Stone'' said, "All the world's indeed a stage on this enchanting fifth LP". ''Uncut'' stated, "With ''Have You in My Wilderness'' her songs feel brighter, more pop, yet they're also just as lush, as considered and as quietly experimental". Andy Gill of ''The Independent'' said, "There's prodigious ambition here, and moments of great pleasure".

Year-end lists

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians
* Corey Fogel – percussion
* Kenny Gilmore – percussion
* Devin Hoff – bass
* Julia Holter – vocals, keyboards
* Danny Meyer – saxophone, clarinet
* Chris Speed – saxophone
* Andrew Tholl – violin
* Christopher Votek – cello

Production and design
* Julia Holter – production
* Cole M.G.N. – production, engineering, mixing
* David Ives – mastering
* Darrell Thorp – engineering
* Bill Mims – assistant engineering
* Jake Viator – assistant engineering
* Rick Bahto – photography
* Matthew Cooper – design

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control

2015 albums
Julia Holter albums
Domino Recording Company albums
Albums produced by Cole M. Greif-Neill