Eric Cannata – Holding Onto The Holy
Getting off to a fine start with several melodic numbers the music is augmented more with an alt-rock artist’s inventive sensibility than mere pop classicisms. Eric adds interesting vocalization to his gripping voice & euphoric guitar stabs. While the songs aren’t entirely catchy in a mainstream-commercial sense they do stick in the mind effectively. Some have more convincing depth than knee-slapping, hand-clapping motivation.
The title track “Holding Onto the Holy” is a mix of pop music with progressive rock’s invariably cool seasoning & an independent artist-oriented arrangement. Nice stuff. Different & never boring. The 10 solo pieces that debut firmly Holding Onto The Holy (Drops Jan 24/Industry Houseplant) were produced by the L.A. singer-songwriter/guitarist Eric Cannata (co-founder of Young The Giant).
I know Eric has cited influences from everyone from Roy Orbison, Harry Nilsson & the Velvet Underground but…Roy’s sense of melody & near-operatic forte isn’t evident here. Nilsson’s multi-octave voice, clever musical humor & talent for beautiful melodies (“All I Think About Is You” “Something True”) places him more in a realm of Tin Pan Alley songwriters. The Velvet Underground – well, maybe. Eric is closer to that without deviant references to heroin, femme fatales & intoxication. What Eric has in songs like “Losing Patience” is a Lou Reed strongly brewed indulgence – an excellent tune & wonderfully sung. However, no sign of Velvet Underground’s eccentric artsy demeanor hovers over this work. But not many bands/artists had that element. Maybe because they didn’t have an Andy Warhol or Nico in the mix.
Eric’s songs cover a wide range of topics that other songwriters seldom tap into. This is why his repertoire is compelling through his evolving sound. No two songs sound the same, so the boredom quotient is low & when it seems to be bordering on that emotion his backup singers run a current through the song to maintain its unique texture.
“Fruit” is energetic & danceable. At times Eric’s voice seems to have been recorded a little “hot” but that adds presence to his showcase. Strange enough Eric excels on his ballad-oriented tunes among them the coda “Like You Do” — another winner without stepping over the line of bombastic or pompous. All the songs have an undefinable charm especially when the electronics are applied sparingly. That allows the melodies themselves & musical construction to indulge themselves unvarnished. Not everything needs to be spacey to be incisive. The songwriting sells the splendidness of the composition & Eric succeeds faithfully.
Highlights – “Holding Onto the Holy,” “Losing Patience,” “Fruit” & “Like You Do.”
Musicians – Eric (12-string acoustic guitars/Solina String Ensemble synth/upright piano), Kosta Galanopoulos (drums), Ernie Cannata (piano), Hannah Connolly & Jon O’Brien (voices).
B&W image courtesy of Eric’s Facebook. CD @ https://www.ericcannata.com/
