Holli Scott: “Weather And Weeds” (2024) CD Review

Holli Scott is a jazz vocalist and songwriter based in Australia. She released her first album, Dust, in 2019, and has now followed that up with Weather And Weeds, an album containing mostly original material, along with one interesting cover. Joining her on this release are two incredibly talented and respected musicians – Jamie Oehlers on saxophone, and Tal Cohen on piano. Oehlers had played on Scott’s previous release, but this is the first time Holli Scott has recorded with Tal Cohen, who is known for his own group, Tal Cohen Trio. Tal Cohen and Jamie Oehlers had worked together on their Innocent Dreamer album, released in 2016, so a rapport already had been built. And perhaps that is part of what made it possible to record this new album in the course of a single session, like some of those great classic jazz albums.

Holli Scott opens the album with “Marionettes,” which seems to tiptoe into the room at it begins, looking around, uncertain but encountering hazy memories of the place. When her vocals come in, the lyrics are delivered as spoken word, read as poetry: “Cloud forms a ceiling that stretches for miles.” And the final lines of this short song are particularly striking: “And expect to discover/We’re all just hanging on strings.” For in that final line, she includes us, which works to draw us in closer. That piece is followed by “Back The Way We Came,” which was the first single released from this album. Here her vocal approach is different, and she delivers a beautiful, captivating performance. “Our own shadows got away from us/Even though we tried hard and we stood stone still/In the yellow.” Interestingly, one of the most captivating moments in this song comes without lyrics, though with strong and moving vocal work. And she is able to convey just as much without words. That section leads to a spellbinding piano solo. The end feels like a dream lifting us with it into the ether, where we are certain to disappear or be transformed in some way.

“Weather And Weeds (Interlude)” eases in, softly, tenderly. The lyrics are delivered as spoken word, for these lines are poetry. Here is a taste: “Dog-eared fences in every shade of stained brown and green/Reluctantly cobbled together as if they’d prefer not to touch/But have resigned themselves to it.” I appreciate that slight pause after the word “touch.” That piece leads straight into “Weather And Weeds,” the album’s title track, a song that was also released as a single. There is a great sense of intimacy here. Holli Scott seems to be able to draw us in so easily, and so strongly. The song then builds in intensity. “And the weeds grew up and over/All the stepping stones/I shook the evening by its shoulders/But it still wouldn’t let me go.” How about those lyrics? Yeah, Holli Scott is the real deal, a songwriter you want to pay attention to, one whose lyrics you want to read to friends, to see how they too might be moved, as we put our own toes out over the edge. This track also features some beautiful work on piano.

“For Mandy” seems to speak directly to a friend. “Your place is dappled sunlight and broken leather/No matter what you carried in with you.” Do we find ourselves in these lines, or do we too look toward someone we may have lost? It may be up to us. The piece then begins to dance halfway through, the piano and saxophone now a couple, shaking off some dust and melancholy, as Holli joins them with some sweet vocal work. Interestingly, after that section, she returns to the beginning, though this time through, the lyrics have something of a different feel, or perhaps we ourselves are in a different place and so receive them differently. That’s followed by “Unravelling.” While the lyrics on this album come to us as poetry, this track also feels like a short story. There is a striking moment when the musicians drop out to allow the voice to be the entire world. “I don’t know what I expected to find/Here of all places/Maybe solace, maybe peace of mind.” This works perfectly. Is it solace she finds there in that moment alone? As we feel ready to ponder this, the others come back in, and we are swept along with the music again. What a beautiful vocal performance she delivers. There is also some gorgeous work on saxophone, and powerful stuff on piano. This is an outstanding track. It ends with her singing “Your words hung in the air,” and again the instruments drop out partway through that line, leaving those very words hanging in the air, a nice touch.

The album’s sole cover is “Tango Till They’re Sore,” a song written by Tom Waits, one which he included on his fantastic Rain Dogs album (an album that Peter Mulvey performs every year at Club Passim during his Lamplighter Sessions). This is an incredible rendition, with an arrangement by Holli Scott, sounding quite a bit different from Tom Waits’ original, and yet not so different somehow. It features an arresting vocal delivery, and another gorgeous lead on saxophone that seems to reach us from some cold, damp city street of memory. “Tango Till They’re Sore” is followed by “Orwell’s Wife,” which features some beautiful work on saxophone at the beginning. I love the way the piano work swells, almost like it is overtaking us. And then the piece moves into a section that has something of a pop vibe. “Blood and sweat, but not the words.”

“Flood (Interlude)” eases in, as did “Weather And Weeds (Interlude).” And as on that earlier track, Holli delivers the lyrics as spoken word. “The moon rests, swollen and heavy on the power lines/Your fingers comb thick lilac air with every step.” I just want to lie down, close my eyes, and let her voice take my mind where it will. The album then concludes with “Flood.” There is a slight pause between these final two tracks, unlike between “Weather And Weeds (Interlude)” and “Weather And Weeds.” I love the dramatic delivery of the song’s title line. And it isn’t just her voice that carries that feeling, but the saxophone and piano too. And soon we get into a more carefree territory, at least for a moment. This is an exciting piece to wrap up a remarkable album.

CD Track List

1. Marionettes
2. Back The Way We Came
3. Weather And Weeds (Interlude)
4. Weather And Weeds
5. For Mandy
6. Unravelling
7. Tango Till They’re Sore
8. Orwell’s Wife
9. Flood (Interlude)
10. Flood

Weather And Weeds was released on October 25, 2024.