Julia Holter
Aviary

Aviary by Julia Holter is one of the best albums of the last 20 years and a masterpiece of all music. It is one of those albums that go beyond the concept of genre (and there are few) and strive for "total" music, somehow incorporating the entire history; Holter creates a personal organic amalgam that is artistically exquisite. The derivation is more of concept than of styles and ideas: the concept of "total" music, popularized in rock by Frank Zappa and perpetuated by illustrious composers such as Robert Wyatt (very present here), Faust, and even previously in jazz by Charles Mingus, Carla Bley, and others. If I were forced to label it with a genre, I would settle for a forced dream-rock-baroque, but inside there’s psychedelia, noise, ambient, it’s a riot of colors.

As mentioned, the feeling that emerges is the total organicity of the music, which seems to be a living thing. The structure of the tracks, difficult to decipher, is not only blurred but sometimes completely deconstructed, immersing and blending the melody (often literally torn apart) in a throbbing and lively stir of sounds, sometimes harmonious, sometimes jarring and harsh: melody, noise, arrangement, structure, everything mixes becoming a unique entity that progresses through emotional fluctuations. But the myriad of instruments popping up from all directions is "organized," in its disorder, with perfect elegance. The recurring thought while listening is that it feels like experiencing the intrinsic beauty and complexity of life and nature, rather than listening to music. The whole is, of course, accompanied by Holter's ethereal (never intrusive) voice.

I don't know what more to say about this work; I can say that she already showed talent (if not genius) in her Tragedy (2011) and grace in Ekstasis (2012), but I believe she achieves maximum cohesion here and manages to perfectly express what she wants to convey. Discussing this album track by track seems unnecessary to me since there is essentially a single "musical concept" (as in every self-respecting masterpiece) that I have tried to express with words, to permeate the entirety which is the real soul of the album from the first to the last track. For the rest, listen to it.