Holly Lerski – Sweet Decline
Holly Lerski quietly released a new album recently via Laundry Label, Sweet Decline. Sweet Decline is the result of songs Holly wrote through the dual lens of a breakup, and a serious road trip through the Western US, with the sequence of the album following the order of the places she stopped by and where she wrote the songs. You can follow this journey here: https://hollylerski.com/sweet-decline-the-journey
“Home Is Your Shoulder” is a cathartic release song, delving into the pain of the loss in a direct way, even when it’s no use and that shoulder isn’t coming back, and Lerski sets the context for the album with this one, written in San Francisco. “Carmel” is a bright ukulele sounding guitar, with shakers, and you’re “eating cake and drinking coffee” … and more, and you’ve got that feeling you have as a baseline when yo you’re far from home. “Yosemite” is a slower thoughtful instrumental song that leads into “Tall Trees” with a western beat, shuffly rhythms and shakers again, and a clear vocal “in that valley we’ll lay… making love under the tall trees and say, tall trees stand for centuries, so will my love, come back to me.” At this stage the breakup is still being processed pit stop by pit stop.
But then with “Nepenthe” there is a more syncopated acoustic guitar pacing, and Holly’s vocal sincerity, and it feels just a bit brighter. “Joshua Tree” picks up the pace again with a breath of excitement and you can feel the optimism in the desert country surroundings. On “Sweet Decline” that optimism continues, the skies seem brighter after stormy skies, and the road trip seems to have been a success – we’ve worked through the pain together and a new tomorrow is on the horizon and the sweet pedal steel on this one brings that point home.
Almost all of the songwriting journey was a road trip through California, where, to name a few, “Carmel,” “Home is Your Shoulder” (in San Fran), “Yosemite,” “Tall Trees” (at Yosemite) and “Nepenthe” and “Down at Deetjen’s” (at Big Sur) were inspired and written.
Sweet Decline is Holly Lerski on lead vocals, backing vocals and acoustic guitar; Joshua Hunt on drums and percussion; Matthew Roley on bass, piano, and keyboards; Alex MacCollough on pedal steel; and Abby Dees and Scott Roley on backing vocals.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Song Premiere: Holly Lerski “Sweet Decline”
The album was produced and mixed by Matthew Roley; recorded at Bunkernoise and mastered at True East Mastering in Nashville.
