While you'd have to be pretty hard-pressed to not know who Modest Mouse is, there is sometimes the occasional fan who hasn't been exposed to Isaac Brock's side stint with Ugly Casanova. In fact, it's even easier to discredit its eclectic cast of cabin rockers. Brian Deck produced two of Iron & Wine's most critically acclaimed albums (Our Endless Numbered Days and The Shepherd's Dog), while Tim Rutili remains as the driving force of Califone. John Orth of the Florida-based band Holopaw is a grand element to Ugly Casanova's sound; with writing credits on four songs, he accompanied Brock on the microphone with a wavering voice that will soon be unmistakable to your ears.
Only formed just a year before Sharpen Your Teeth's release, Holopaw provides soothing, mellow folk jams and ballads with a certain grace and majesty that is as fragile as it is powerful. Maybe that's milking it a little too much, but every once in a while, "that" kind of music just happens to be composed and is left waiting to be discovered. The band's sophomore release, Quit +/or Fight, was and still is mostly forgotten, especially on the tails of their latest 2009 masterpiece, Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness. They're both excellent tapestries of pure musical charm, but today we'll be unearthing the former and giving it some extra necessary exposure.Quit +/or Fight may only run for half-an-hour, and it may be too delicate for some in terms of its cushiony execution and Orth's feminine croon, but underneath lies 11 resplendent tunes that beg to be loved. If it rubs you in the right spot, return the love and share it with others; Holopaw is far too brilliant to fall into the unknown.
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