Holo boy - This Is Lorelei

By Eva Sawdey

It seems as though almost everyone is dropping a rerecorded, or reinvented, album lately.  The idea of having the same songs with better quality and small structural changes just doesn’t inspire me. However, Nate Amos is successful in making his past songs feel mature in Holo Boy. The instrumental adjustments and bringing the vocals to the forefront creates a different interpretation of his past recordings, reflecting the growth of him as an artist and creating a space for retrospection when compared to his originals. 

Starting off with the title track, ‘Holo Boy’ has shifted from being this clangy and mumbled concoction to a more thought-through and reflected piece. A change can be seen in just the intros, with the original, released in 2015, emphasising every instrumental part with this specific reverberated ringing sound being most apparent. While the rerecorded version keeps this ring, it's quieted to let the bass and main guitar come through. When the vocals start in the original, the ring disappears but the other instruments are almost overpowering the lyrics, as if Amos’s mind was clouded by everything going on at the time. The original feels angrier and more impulsive than the rerecorded version, which turns the vocal volume up a notch. The rerecorded song feels more secure and comforting with the layers of volume that build on top of each other, whereas the original elicits worry, as every aspect of the song is at a constant level of loudness. This can be heard when he sings “Everything just shakes and stays”, where in the first version he sounds defeated, but in the second version he is more optimistic.  Both of the songs are equally emotional, but they tell different stories. 

‘I Can’t Fall’ is the opening track of the album and has stayed relatively true to the original. However, Amos sings most of the rerecorded version in a lower octave than the original which really changed how the song is heard. If not already exposed to Amos, listen to the latest version first and then the original, which was released in 2020, as the shift from comfortable and in-range notes to an almost artificial, but impressive, high pitch, makes having both versions worthwhile. The original is a bit eccentric and sounds like he’s just inhaled some helium to reach that octave. The playful nature of the first version shows Amos’s creative and unconventional side, leading into this satirical kind of feel. The song also ends rather abruptly, however this matches with the already established unconventional nature of the song. However, the song feels less genuine because of this. The words and the actions; singing at a higher pitch and cutting the song short, do not match. “You already caught me, I can’t fall”, sounds sarcastic and jokingly when sung in the first version. In contrast, the rereleased version sounds more like a conventional love song. Amos’s relaxed range is more heartfelt. There are still some parts sung in a higher key, but they are placed intermittently within the song, creating a flowing background. Opposed to the original, Amos sings, “You already caught me, I can’t fall”, in a kind and meaningful way when in his natural range. The ending is also prolonged, with the vocals staying true to the original and stopping, but the instruments play the expected pattern. This completes the song, allowing the latest release to feel predictable and mature rather than the first.

‘Dreams Away’ has also changed between the two releases. The first version is robotic sounding. The vocals sound like they’ve been sung with a low quality microphone through the back of a fan, making the song feel slower and lacking energy. The instruments being reverberated creates the feeling that the listeners are stuck in a long, unsettling dream. This version, originally released in 2020, details  the singer’s disappointment and delusion of being trapped in a continuous haze where he’s desperately trying to change, or forget, but cannot. There is a guitar part that plays, giving the illusion that there is happiness in this dream, but because it’s slow, it feels artificial and dampened. The rerecorded version is much more upbeat, with the robotic elements gone. The beats per minute have increased, and Amos’ clear voice comes through, differentiating the two. While the lyrics have stayed the same, the latest version sounds more forgiving and hopeful in figuring out the slump that's occurred, and seeing a brighter future where maybe he won’t forget everything, but he’ll be able to move past it. He sounds more optimistic and confident when he sings “I will wash my dreams away.” In the first version, he isn’t sure that he has the energy within him to change anything. The two songs feel completely different in their mindset.

Holo Boy is a creative representation of how artists can change a song’s instruments and vocals to alter the listeners interpretation. By breaking down and altering main components, Amos allows his past followers and newcomers to see the progress and change in his creative thinking. Unlike other rerecorded albums, Holo Boy is not just a better quality carbon copy of Amos’s past work, but shows maturity and retrospection. Compared to the originals, the album is generally more positive and hopeful. Amos is able to look back at difficult or unsettling periods and find light in those situations now that they’ve passed. While the new album adds distance, both temporal and emotional, to his originals, it doesn’t lack passion or energy. Holo Boy takes past stories and retells them in a healing manner, providing hope for the future.