Holz
Shizu
Independent Release
2013
I am not very sure, but from what I’ve gathered, Holz is actually a one-man’s-band and that man is called Harry Holzhauer. The album “Shizu” is a collection of experimental basically guitar based post-rock songs.
There’s only one easy way to make sure that an instrumental album does not end up being boring: make the songs as small as possible. However, Holz does not take the easy way out, almost every song in “Shizu” ranges between 4 and 5 minutes but none of them makes the listener search for the skip button. Largely influenced by bands like Mogwai but never directly copying them, Holz offers an interesting and enjoyable record filled with many dreamy musical compositions like “Allegro” and “Interlude” for example. My personal favorite is “Stomp” which features a more dominant bass line and an overall groovy vibe.
However, no matter how enjoyable it is, I do not think that “Shizu” will be anybody’s favorite album. Even though I trully had a good time listening to it, I think that it lacks a little bit in originality. In other words, I think it stands out amongst other post-rock records out there, but it does not offer anything new to the genre.
There’s only one easy way to make sure that an instrumental album does not end up being boring: make the songs as small as possible. However, Holz does not take the easy way out, almost every song in “Shizu” ranges between 4 and 5 minutes but none of them makes the listener search for the skip button. Largely influenced by bands like Mogwai but never directly copying them, Holz offers an interesting and enjoyable record filled with many dreamy musical compositions like “Allegro” and “Interlude” for example. My personal favorite is “Stomp” which features a more dominant bass line and an overall groovy vibe.
However, no matter how enjoyable it is, I do not think that “Shizu” will be anybody’s favorite album. Even though I trully had a good time listening to it, I think that it lacks a little bit in originality. In other words, I think it stands out amongst other post-rock records out there, but it does not offer anything new to the genre.