REVIEW: Hollie Smith & Mara TK - Band Of Brothers Vol: 1

Hollie Smith & Mara TK
Band of Brothers Vol: 1
(EMI)
(out of 5)

On this very special album, contemporary local soul sensation Hollie Smith teams up with Mara TK (of Electric Wire Hustle and Fly My Pretties fame), to create Band of Brothers Vol: 1 - the long awaited follow up to her critically acclaimed solo efforts Long Player and Humour and the Misfortune of Others.

It’s the first album in the Band of Brothers series that will see Smith team up with a different musician or producer, and if the calibre of songwriting on this effort is anything to go by, we’re in for some pretty interesting stuff.

Singer, beatmaker, and multi-instrumentalist TK is a great fit for Smith, and has clearly pushed her to explore her considerable writing talents in the style of a truly solid collaboration. Written, recorded and tidied up in a six week period of intense creativity for the pair, it unveils a whole new side to Smith’s writing.

The voice is unmistakable, but here it really gets to flex its muscles on tracks that run the gamut from psychedelia to electronica - and back again. We all know her pipes work well when it comes to sultry rnb and belting the big ballads, but here it whispers as well as it soars, making for a very beautiful treat for the ears. I predict this will be huge.

By Helene Ravlich