Five years after being released on Californian avant-garde electronic singer-songwriter Julia Holter's critically acclaimed debut album (2011), "So Lilies" is being relaunched as a live album recording. The white noise and prolonged background chatter that opened the original recording has been omitted, allowing Holter's angelic and crystal clear voice to command your attention from the outset:
'So lillies, so tenderlyWhen my dreams reflect themSeeming fragrant, ah!Were sun in their grief!Your whiteOf the dreamUnbinding my hands with my headWhile enclosed in your violet graceSo lillies, so tenderlyWhen my dreams reflect themSeeming fragrant, ah!Were sun in their grief!Your whiteOf the dreamUnbinding my hands with my headWhile enclosed in your violet graceSo lillies, so tenderlyWhen my dreams reflect themSeeming fragrant, ah!Were sun in their grief!Your white
So lostBoredom and fountainsWickedly, eyesWhen will they turn around?When will they turn around?So lostBoredom and fountainsSo lost'
Lyrics: Genius.com
The tense electronic pulses and collage of tiny background noises have also been replaced by a more streamlined and minimalist electropop production, minimizing the distraction from Holter's beautiful vocals. The full meaning of the song's lyrics will be lost on you if you are not entirely familiar with , Hippolytusthe 2,400+ year-old Greek tragedy by Euripedes that her concept album was based on. This does not necessarily matter: the track's delicate yet intense atmosphere is enough to keep you holding onto each of Holter's syllables as she gracefully proceeds towards the song's frantic crescendo.
