Waxing forth with the sort of emotional candor that only comes with experience, Americana troubadour Ken Holt is back in a big way with “I Did Not Know,” a new single that is already garnering a great deal of attention and plays from DJs from around the world. Holt presents years of reflection wrapped in the warm blanket of roots-driven accompaniment.
Written with her longtime collaborator Howard Laravea, “I Did Not Know” is a gentle confession carried on the wind buoyed by Holt’s unvarnished vocal honesty and textured by Mary Kate Brennan’s atmosphere-draped harmonies. It’s that kind of song that doesn’t beg for your attention but slowly walks up and sidles next to you.
A standard-issue mix of country, bluegrass, rock ‘n’ roll, and pop, Holt’s signature sound is evident from the first few bars, but it’s the personal, stripped-down nature of the tracks that truly shines through. There’s a light twang, a slow beat, and a guitar line that could have been plucked straight off of a sunlit front porch. Along the way, Holt tells a tale that is all too familiar. Words not spoken, feelings taken too seriously, and the silence of foresight. “I Did Not Know” captures a rare emotional tint, that muted throb of realizing too late how much someone mattered or how deeply something was felt. Holt and Laravea aren’t melodramatic about the feeling, they pay it due respect. Over the top, Brennan’s layered harmonies serve as the ghost in the room, answering the emotional charge without upstaging the lead.
It’s not just a song, it’s a friend for the listeners who’ve navigated heartache with gentle composure. It’s a space Jackson Browne and John Prine, and, back in the day, early Springsteen, before he became the authoritative word on everything, discovered and drew sustenance from, and Ken Holt is himself there, too.
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