Sometimes I’m not sure if I like Holly Golightly or if I just like the idea of Holly Golightly. Holly’s music, to me, has always seemed like something that would be played in an art/coffee house with Red walls, and full of people doing their best Alan Ginsberg impressions. Some oddity who pops up on a Jim Jarmusch soundtrack, or enjoys a day or two on top of the Hypemachine charts after Stereogum mentions it. To paraphrase, I find Holly Golightly’s albums to be rather hit or miss, and usually I have to be in the mood to enjoy the hits.

Over the past few years that has been my take on Holly and her extensive catalog. Then You Can’t Buy a Gun When You’re Crying came along. Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs are Holly Golightly and a guy that goes by the handle Lawyer Dave. Under this moniker Holly seems to have abandoned the garage rock sound that could annoy me so very much and has embraced stripped down country and blues while keeping that “far away, lo-fi, should be heard with the crackle of vinyl” portion of her sound that has always appealed to me. I could not help but like it, and it leads off with my favorite song of the year so far, “Devil Do”. If you are a fan of the music I feature on this site you owe it to yourself to check out this cd. I’m glad I did and it is going onto the Essential Listening list.

In closing, I would like to quote The Tripwire, had it not been for them it may have been July before I listened to this cd:

This record hurts like a fork in the eye. It’s got the rugged face and calloused hands of a cowboy with the worldly sophistication of a big city Pinkerton. It is recommended that you only listen to this record alone, in the dark, with the safety off.

Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs - Devil Do
Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs - Time to Go
Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs - Jesus Don’t Love Me

Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs Official Site, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs on myspace, Buy You Can’t Buy a Gun When You’re Crying