Presto Music has published a feature on John Holiday’s debut solo album, Over My Head.
Presto describes the artist as “the exhilarating American John Holiday,” whose career has encompassed NBC’s singing competition The Voice, pop singles and major opera appearances across the US and Europe. The review says the album “reflects his stylistic versatility as well as his determination to follow his heart,” calling it “impossible to categorise – and equally impossible to resist.”
Highlighting Holiday’s voice, Presto writes: “The voice itself is extraordinary,” and stresses that beyond technical mastery “the special ingredient goes beyond technical finesse: Holiday is one of those artists whose conviction can hit you in the solar plexus with a single phrase.”
On the programme’s breadth, Presto points to the “fervour” of the spiritual opening, the “wonderful showcase” for pianist Kevin Miller in Carlos Simon’s Vocalises, and the emotional punch of songs that “linger longest in the memory,” including “Now, O Now, in This Brown Land” and “I Hear an Army.”
Concluding its review, Presto declares: “in short, it has ‘award-winner’ written all over it.”
Read the full interview here.
Over My Head is available now on PENTATONE.
