Album review: Deborah Holland’s “Vancouver”

By Paul T. Mueller

Deborah Holland took that old advice about lemons and lemonade seriously. In 2010, the singer-songwriter, who’d enjoyed considerable success as a performer and had later become a professor of music at Cal State Los Angeles, pulled up roots and moved to Canada (apparently one of her sons needed schooling that, for reasons not explained, he couldn’t get in the United States). Relocated in a cold and rainy place, financial stress, romantic difficulties – for a lot of us, that’s a recipe for deep depression, but for Holland it was inspiration for the excellent songs that make up her latest CD, Vancouver.

“Songs came pouring out of me (like the rain in Vancouver),” Holland says in the liner notes. And what songs they are – funny one minute, rip-your-heart-out sad the next, full of sharp insights, skillfully written and performed. All were written by Holland except the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” which, while pleasant enough, seems a bit beside the point.

Holland’s songs cover a range of topics and styles, but as you might expect, there are strong threads of alienation and broken romance throughout. Things start off funny and bouncy with “I Wanna Be a Canadian,” a tribute to Holland’s adopted country (and to some extent an indictment of her native land), but the mood sobers quickly after that. The title track deals with the sometimes depressing realities of life in an unfamiliar place, while “California” is a homesick look back at people and things left behind. The upbeat tone of “Money” contrasts with the litany of financial struggles it describes. “That Ain’t Love” is a cautionary tale about warning signs in relationships, while “Messed Up Valentine” might be one of the sadder goodbye songs ever. From all that, the CD might sound like a bummer, but Holland’s gift for finding humor even in grim situations keeps Vancouver from devolving into a complete weepfest.

There’s more, but suffice it to say that Holland’s clear, strong voice and confident delivery shine on all 12 tracks, assistant by clean production (by Holland and Steve Wight) and excellent instrumental playing. Holland plays bass on most tracks, along with acoustic guitar and accordion, while Wight handles drums and percussion and J.P. Mourão plays electric and other guitars. Guests include Patterson Barrett on various stringed instruments and keyboards, Cidny Bullens on harmonica, and Wendy Waldman on background vocals and acoustic guitar (Holland, Bullens and Waldman together make up “folk supergroup” The Refugees; Holland was also lead singer and songwriter of Animal Logic, which also included drummer Stewart Copeland of The Police and jazz bassist Stanley Clarke).

It’s been said that there’s no art without pain, and if you need evidence, you can find it on Vancouver.