Holy Basil is back, baby, with her gorgeous ode, "The Outside," a hauntingly beautiful piece that solidifies her position as a boundary-pushing visionary of contemporary music. But entwining the immersed sensibilities of electronica with ethereal soundscapes and the swell of musical theatre, the album interlaces genres to create a transcendent experience long after you've turned off the press. She forges her sonic path by referencing legendary trailblazers such as Björk, Kate Bush, Grimes, and David Bowie as her guiding lights, creating music that resonates with anyone who seeks sincerity and artistry in the sounds they consume.
At root, "The Outside" is an internal meditation on personal strife, mental health, and the search for quiet in a tumultuous world. It originated with Holy Basil's struggles to hold onto her mental health and the therapy of music to tame the chaos of her inner life. With poetic lyricism and an atmospheric soundscape, she encapsulates that romantic yearning for the simplicity of a different time, a longing to take shelter from an unmanageable present and find refuge in childhood innocence.
"The Outside" is an emotional storytelling masterclass. Holy Basil's wisp-like vocals drift above a lush orchestration of lush synths, moody crescendos, and a heartbeat-like rhythm that throbs with yearning. It was very organic concerning the creation of the melody and the songwriting, something that the rawness of her artistry proved to be a good sign of. Every note blossoms with emotion; every lyric, a thread in the elaborate fabric of her lived experience.
You will immerse yourself in "The Outside" hallucinatory landscape as the past and present converge in a gorgeous haze of melancholic reverie. With a chorus that hits like an emotional tide and production that feels both expansive and close, "The Outside" is a song in the most personal, immersive sense, a sonic safe space for those with a heart who have ever felt themselves lost in the cacophony of the outside world.
On this release, Holy Basil proves once more that she can write utterly personal and universally resonant music. "The Outside" is a manifesto. It reminds us that music can heal, transport, and connect us to something greater than ourselves.