Holden Garcia – Tainted Tapes

Review

Holden Garcia – Tainted Tapes – Album Review

Ohhhhh…they grow up so fast, don’t they?

Holden Garcia is currently thirteen years old y’all…and he was only between NINE and TEN when he wrote this album.  And played all the instruments you’ll hear.  And recorded it all…on his own, by the time he was ELEVEN before releasing the record officially at TWELVE.  How incredible is that?  Young Holden is already more motivated to make music than most of the adults I know that have been doing what they do for longer than he’s even been on Earth yet.  If you ask me, I’d tell ya that’s inspiring!  As cool as those facts may be though, I still have a responsibility to be as objective and honest as I would be with anyone else.  There’s a lot of music out there in this world – let’s find out if Holden’s can compete.

I gotta say, pushing play on Tainted Tapes brought me great joy right away as “Faith” started up.  From the instrumentation and sound of the production right at the very beginning of this record, I instantly felt like Garcia would be on solid ground.  All the ingredients check out right away…the guitar is great, the rhythm section of the bass & drums is perfectly in line…I was immediately impressed by what Holden can do.  He’s probably got the most room to evolve with his vocals, but that’s pretty much to be expected – Garcia sounds his actual age, and there’s no way to really get around that, you know what I mean?  What I really liked was that his songwriting instincts are fantastic – he gives us every reason to have “Faith” in what he’ll go on to do with his music career.  You know how many folks I give a hard time to on these pages of ours because they write in a way that adheres to a rhyme scheme they’ve forced upon themselves, which doesn’t allow them to say what they really want to say?  TONS.  Holden has already found his way out of the typical melodic patterns that singers and songwriters fall into.  When he was singing about how “the hoop is so tall, that I think I might fall” I worried for a brief moment that he’d be doing the same thing as everyone else…but when he followed it up with “but I ignore that fact” and essentially chose to go against the grain of the rhyme scheme in the words & still kept the melody intact, I was beaming.  That might seem like a small thing to you, but that’s a huge thing when it comes to gaining some insight on the artist he already is…he says what he wants to in the way he wants to say it, and ultimately that’s the best recipe for success.  “Faith” is a fun opening tune, and it’s catchy too.

And don’t get me wrong…sounding your age isn’t a bad thing necessarily at all – we just instinctively know as listeners that particular aspect of his music is going to develop in a more noticeable way over time.  Holden actually sings really well when it comes right down to it.  He’s probably a bit further above the mix with his voice than I’d personally put him in terms of the production, especially right now when it’s the music that’s likely to make more of an impact on listeners, but that’s more of an observation than it is any kind of complaint.  As I listened to “Deep Sleep,” I just felt like the guy was honestly doing the best he can with the skillset he currently has, and he’s already shining bright.  Moments like this are clearly going to be the building blocks for his future ahead, so to hear how much he’s already thriving tells me he’s going to be in the greatest of shape year after year if he continues to study, learn, and refine his craft as he continues on from here.  With “Deep Sleep,” he’s detailing the life I basically led as a kid myself…I used to get to bedtime at the end of the night, and that felt like the only time of day where I was finally awake.  As a result, I made my way through the rest of each day like a zombie, and all I could wish for was some “Deep Sleep,” just like Holden is experiencing.  The writing and the transitions in this song are punching so far above his actual weight that it’s remarkable…once again, I’m impressed.

He’s got that signature Mumford strum goin’ on with his guitar, that’s for sure…but as far as I’ve read about him, that’s an influence, so naturally it shows up in his music like anyone’s influences would tend to.  I’ll advise a little caution in that he’s going to want to keep an ear on how much variation there is in that kind of style versus how much of it can sound similar from the outside listening in…but as far as his actual musicianship is concerned, I’m not hearing any issues with how he plays at all.  A track like “Dare By Dare” might even have a bit more in common with something like Cake than Mumford & Sons, but that’s still in the same arena for the Americana/Folk sound he’s going for.  I like what he’s done with his backing vocals on “Dare By Dare,” I like his lyricism stands out more to me here than it did in the opening two tracks for all the right reasons, and I think this third track also confirms he knows how to go about creating effective hooks that listeners will be able to connect to.  Trust me when I tell ya, he’s going to get all kinds of opportunities coming his way…I kept shaking my head, practically in disbelief, thinking about the fact that if he’s already this good, he’s gonna be great in what seems like no time at all.  “Dare By Dare” is easily my favorite cut of the first three on Tainted Tapes…the writing and the execution…the melody and the hooks…I mean…Holden is already in the advanced class, and he’s only going to get better over time.  Nothing needs to be super complex or complicated at this stage of the game, and at the core of it all, it isn’t…he’s not walking, but he’s not yet running either – he’s right in the space in between, tapping into what he’s truly capable of & discovering his own innate connection to music.

LISTEN to how he’s not shying away from BIG moments like how he sings “Confusing World” – where is this guy getting his confidence?  Remarkable!  Again, I know that a twenty year-old Holden is going to crush moments like this even harder than he is now, but credit where credit is due, for being only twelve when he recorded “Confusing World,” he’s getting an incredible performance out of himself for such an early age.  His level of focus and consistency is nothing short of impressive to listen to…you get the sense that when the red light comes on and it’s time to record, Holden is already showing a level of professionalism that sets him apart from the rest.  I really dig the hooks on “Confusing World” and think the chorus is fantastic, but don’t twist my words – I think he’s got another great song here all-around.  I love the emotion he writes with, I love the imagery he uses and the vivid details he adds into his lyrics, and I think he does a tremendous job finding the right gear to sing with to enhance what he’s singing about, you know what I mean?  He’s connected to the material he writes on a personal level, which in turn gives us listeners the opportunity and ability to see the world through his eyes and connect to what he’s singing about as if we were right there beside him, experiencing life the exact same way that he is.

Lest we forget, this was Holden’s debut record…there ARE going to be spots where we can identify opportunities for growth, which is only natural when you consider the fact that he’s STILL GROWING.  One of the things that generally separates the younger from the older in terms of lyrics comes down to vocabulary.  Holden’s still go so many other words to learn, but again, he’s doing the best he can with what he’s got so far.  I bring this up, because when you’re listening to a song like “Shine,” you’ll notice that the vocal melody feels more rigid in its design, which is largely due to the static nature of one syllable words and how they’re less flexible to use within a rhyme scheme…so you feel that sharp cut at the end of each line…”dice…nice…life…night…shine.”  Even when he’s not worried about rhyming, he’s still using very simple & straightforward words like “born…light…see…am” for example…lots of room to grow here, and as his vocabulary continues to expand, of course his lyricism will evolve along with it.  Hooks-wise, this one didn’t quite work for me, but I really loved the fact that Garcia was once again singing this with full confidence and solid tones.  That being said, I can actually hear the potential for “Shine” to be a crowd favorite sing-along when played live…so maybe it’s just one of those things where it’s hard to get the essence of the energy recorded – I run into that with artists & bands all the time.  To me, “Shine” probably came out just shy of being a little grating in the hooks when he was singing on his own, but imagine what it would sound like if he was surrounded by a whole crowd singing along!  It would be a totally different thing, and quite likely go on to be one of the real memorable highlights of the night for the audience in attendance.  I like the potential in “Shine” more than what I hear in it now.

There we go!  A little variation can go a long way.  He starts out “Jump” with a bass-led groove, and even though that’s a tiny step in a different direction, it’s also unlike anything else we’ve heard from him so far, which ends up really helping this track stand out.  For the most part, this tune makes enough sense to me…heck, I think the younger generation might even be able to create some kickass TikTok dances and videos to support this tune.  Does everything make sense to an older guy like me?  Heck no!  “Come on man, give me my rice,” he sings…and I’m over here like, someone’s really withholding rice from you?  Why?  Moreover, why is it so important for you to get it back right at this very moment?  This could be one of those examples where Garcia drifts slightly in terms of how he’s been saying what he wants to say in the way he wants to say it, versus a moment like this where he might have been searching for a word that rhymes with “twice” right beforehand.  On the other hand, “Come on man, give me my rice” stands out…I noticed it every single time I heard this song as I made my way through Tainted Tapes over the past week…and there’s value in that kind of a line, even if it might not make a whole lot of sense to all of us.  Vocally, with songs like “Shine” and “Jump,” he’s kind of facing the same issues…more volume doesn’t always equate to a more impactful moment, you feel me?  You want to hear the technique and the character in his voice more than just volume…but this is another thing that comes along with time & experience.  Right now, I’m still happy with what I’m hearing from Holden, even if he’s further away from being in his prime as he might want you to believe in the lyrics of “Jump.”  You’ve got a ways to go before you get there young buck, but I’d be the first to admit you’ll get there before most folks would.

Personally, I very much like that Garcia is willing to try so many different things, because that’s exactly what an artist SHOULD be doing as they’re first starting out.  Try EVERYTHING – that’s the only real way to find out what you can actually do well.  Even when things might not work out perfectly, like on “Tonight” for example…it’s a little strained vocally as it’s up at some of the highest points in his register that we’ve heard so far…it’s still a completely commendable effort, and it proves that Holden is always willing to go where the song takes him, which is a crucial aspect of great songwriting.  He’s not forcing anything when it comes to the writing…he’s allowing the melody to come to him based on what he’s hearing within the material, and that’s always going to be the most effective way to get the best out of his music.  Even though we might all have been hoping he’d get a little more out of the hooks than he does in this instance, let’s be real here – he’s still onto the right idea.  It’s the chorus that contains the kind of magic we’re looking for, whereas the verses are a part I’d nearly be ready to toss straight out the window by comparison.  Once again, I’ll advise some caution to Holden…don’t settle.  “Gotta make some, gotta make it count, after this, you are a scout” – that’s probably not going to cut it my friend.  How did we get to being a scout?  How does that really play into the rest of what you’ve written here – or is it just a word that seemed to fit?  Intention and purpose behind every word you’ll ever write is a lofty goal to have for any artist or band, but at the same time, it’s important to be mindful of what can feel like it comes straight outta left field too.  The more intention and purpose you can put into the words and every note you’ll ever play, the more that connection between you and the music becomes unbreakable, and our suspension of disbelief as listeners won’t be broken either.  The main hooks of a track like “Tonight” reveal stellar ideas though, and the more he tries things like this, the better it’ll all come out as time goes on.  As it stands right now, it’s a little wide of the mark he’s aiming for, but you better believe I salute his willingness to explore his sound, his voice, and the ambitions in his writing.

Concentrate on building that vocabulary of yours young man, because that’ll take you a long, long way when it comes to your lyricism and songwriting.  Don’t get me wrong, right now as it stands, Holden is making more use of one syllable words than most folks could, but you do feel the weight of things sounding a little too similar than perhaps they should be.  When you get to a song like “Same,” where he’s pointing out how “things are gonna be the same,” you end up noticing the similarities even more.  This kind of stuff happens all the time in making music…artists and bands go after fairly mundane concepts, themes & topics to write about, and then they end up with a song that is very hard to be excited by as a result of getting too close to the heart of the subject – make sense?  It’s hard to be inspired when singing about everything being the “Same,” ain’t it?  I’d be the first to tell you that a couple of spins through “Same” should have most people enjoying the hooks in the melody and vocals – but I’d also say that with less variation in this tune than some of the others by comparison, those next two spins afterwards aren’t going to reveal too much more than you’ve already heard in the spins you took before it, because so much of this track really is the “Same” as the rest of it.  That being said, I like what he’s done in the way it starts out with the a cappella vocals, I like the way the music kicks in, and I would also tell you that the hook is memorable…this cut has that earworm potential, where you’ll be hearing it for days after you last heard it.  Like it or not, there’s always immense value in that for sure.

Personally speaking, I think it’s downright fascinating to see what a young guy like Holden chooses to write about.  Like, I’ll fully admit, I have absolutely no idea what he’s on about when he’s singing “Light” – but that doesn’t make it uninteresting to me at all…in fact, it’s quite the opposite effect.  “Sunday morning, see a bag, look inside it, make sure you reach for the light.”  Like, huh?  “Never knew that, I am jacked, think about it, make sure you reach for the light.”  I says pardon?  Is this making sense to anyone else, or is it just me that’s hopelessly lost in trying to follow the bouncing ball while I try to sing along with Garcia’s lyricism?  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need everything to make sense all the time – heck, one of my two favorite bands of all-time is R.E.M. and practically nothing Michael Stipe wrote feels like it connected to the thing he wrote before it line after line in any given song…but a little cohesion can also go a long way too.  I don’t mind what I’m hearing in “Light” when it comes right down to it…it’s got a similar playfulness to how the album started with “Faith” – not necessarily inconsequential stuff, but still loose in a way that feels organic and like we want to connect with the natural energy on display.  All-in-all, it’s the upbeat vibe of “Light” that ends up being the real hook in this song more-so than any one particular line or part of what he’s playing…there’s a humble innocence to a song like this that charms.

Let him cook!  LISTEN to Holden get things moving as he picks up the pace for “Stopping.”  I also think some of his most insightful lyricism is found in this tune as well – “I don’t show signs of stopping” is actually quite brilliant if you think about it, and again, it seems wise beyond his years.  I like how he’s added the breakdown into this tune as well…it’s a massively effective part of this song and really gets everyone paying attention.  Obviously, as he returns back to the full strength of the music, he’s likely created one of the best spots to get the audience clapping along as well, which is something else that can go a long, long way when playing a song like this live.  I also think the optimistic outlook he reveals in this song says a ton about the young man behind the music as well, like when he sings “we all realize, when problems arrive, we are still alive.”  He’s right, right?  I hate to be the one to break it to him that there are going to be MANY more problems arriving as he continues on through life than he’s likely to have experienced so far as an early teenager, but that’s the nature of the game.  As long as he shows no “signs of stopping” and keeps an attitude like you’ll hear in his perspective on “Stopping,” he’ll be just fine as he navigates the trials and tribulations of life going forward, of which, as most of you know, there will be more than any of us can count.  All gas, no brakes Holden – this is the way, and long may you run.

Will the adults get what Holden is creating?  Maybe.  All I can think is that it would be freakin’ cool to be in a class with Garcia, knowing that he’ll go on to be a verifiable talent recognized around the globe one day if he keeps this up.  Maybe some of us old-heads will be able to get into it, but even if we didn’t, his peers, friends, and other folks his age should be massively impressed by how he represents them with the music he’s making.  Is Tainted Tapes a little more lengthy than it needs to be?  Quite likely.  As I tend to remind y’all from time to time, there are about five perfect records with more than twelve songs on them, and Holden’s got an ambitious set of fourteen here that probably could have been trimmed down a bit, sure.  I’m not worried about any of that kind of stuff when considering his age…like I said, right now it’s all about testing anything and everything to discover what he’s truly capable of – so keep going dude.  “This is kiddish, and wholesome,” he sings on “Troublesome” – and he’s not wrong about that.  I still think the ideas are coming through really solidly, even if the execution wavers here and there.  Like, this particular track for example, is probably the most uneven that we hear from Holden in terms of his vocals, but the song itself is still a good one, and I still enjoyed it as is.  “Troublesome” is actually a really good cut for him to learn from, because you can hear how his focus on quality & consistency has drifted more than we’ve heard from him on any other track on the record so far…and at the end of the day, you can really dig into the reasons as to why that is.  Maybe it was the last tune he wrote on Tainted Tapes.  Maybe he didn’t practice this one as much as he had the rest in the set.  Maybe he woke up three hours later than he normally did that day and was still a little sleepy – there are endless reasons as to what can create inconsistencies in what we create, and it’s a process of elimination to ensure they don’t continue to creep into what we do.  As much as Holden is still discovering what works for him, he’s also finding out just as much about what doesn’t – and we have to give him the opportunity to do that as a young artist.  Like I said, I still like “Troublesome,” but that’s largely because I tend to hear ideas more than I hear anything else.  What I can tell you is this…that transition he makes around the 1:45 mark is GENIUS, and I kind of wish I heard him do a whole lot more of that!  It’s a short instrumental break, but it’s truly awesome and it highlights the fact that he can create effective hooks in his music as much as his vocals.

I kind of feel similarly about “Alright” as I did about “Same” in terms of how you can come so perilously close to a concept that it can taint the results…like…I don’t know if “Alright” is going to be the cut that gets people excited, but it does feel like a song that comes from genuine emotional perspective.  At least for the most part…”things go by like a bag of Lays” is one of those head-scratching lines that Holden likes to throw in every once in a while.  Other lines like “knowing the times, honey” are going to be the ones that catch up with him as he gets older…by the time he’s twenty, he’ll think he didn’t even know what the times even were back then, just like we all do as we get older, and he might even snicker over the fact that he wrote ‘honey’ in there, like he’s been calling people that for years already by the time he was only twelve.  And maybe he has been – I don’t know him – but yeah…it does seem like one of those spots where he’s writing from a space that he hasn’t quite grown into yet.  All good Holden, like I’ve been saying from moment one here, try anything and everything…it’s experimentation that leads to victory, and it’s also what leads to your own continual interest in the artistry…and if you master that, it all leads to longevity, I promise ya.  He puts in a solid and balanced performance on “Alright” that gets everything back on track, and I liked how he would transition the mood of this song along with the meaning behind his words, like how things would sound downtrodden when he realized he was simply doing “Alright” and what that really means in comparison to how he might be wishing he felt instead.

Hmmmmmm.  I’m not entirely sure I can follow you all the way down the rabbit hole on “Undermined” Holden.  I appreciate the core sentiment of what you’re expressing here – “I won’t live in a world where I, where I am undermined” – I like that a lot, and I agree with you.  What I would encourage you to do, is make sure when you’ve got a strong concept like that, build around it.  Toss everything else you might have written on your way to getting there, and start the writing process all over again, centered around the piece you know works 100%.  Using “Undermined” as the example…I mean…I’m not sure a whole lot else of what’s written in this song lyrically makes a whole lot of sense at all really, inside or outside of the core concept.  What the heck does “capsule my vision” even mean?  Is that a thing we can do with vision that I’m unaware of?  Or maybe you were looking for a totally different word.  It’s not a bad hook, even if it might not make a whole lot of sense.  Again, I get to a spot like around the 1:50 mark where he decides to light it up for a quick solo, and find myself wishing he explored those kinds of things a lot more than he has on Tainted Tapes, but as his confidence justifiably grows, he’ll likely make more space for his musicianship as he continues forward from here.  It’s so easy to hold Holden to a totally different standard than you would with most kids his age, because he’s proven to be so significantly capable – but we have to remember how young he really is, and how much more he’ll continue to evolve in his craft.  Right now, to hear how many of the fundamentals he’s got done solid, how many different instruments he can play, the fact that he can write & create songs from start to finish – it’s actually quite staggering to think about all that he can do already, even if we know that he’ll go on to do much more in the future.  “Undermined” is another quality tune in his early catalog…whether or not an old guy like me understands everything he’s saying aside, he should be extremely proud of everything he’s achieved.  “They’ll think that, children have no class, but I have proven them wrong.”  Yes, you certainly have my dude.

“Anyway” is an INTERESTING tune brother-man.  As I listened to Holden sing this one, I tried to wrap my head around how anyone his age would come up with a melody like this or such a unique way to go about singing a song…where the influence would come from and such…and I couldn’t come up with any real direct comparisons.  He’s doing things that differently in how he’s phrased this vocal melody, and it’s really quite remarkable.  I still think he should be listening to a whole lot more Cake than Mumford & Sons or Vampire Weekend when it comes to the way he writes his songs if he’s looking for a closer blueprint to guide him along with what seems to naturally suit him, but it’s tracks like “Anyway” that leave me feeling like Garcia left to his own devices will fare just fine in the end.  There’s not a whole lot more he needs to do other than have patience with himself as he continues to grow into the artist he’s so clearly meant to be.  There are going to be ups and there are going to be downs – and you can learn from both as you go…there’s no reason whatsoever to be afraid of the ebb and flow of a career, because every artist and band goes through that in some way, shape or form.  I’m a big fan of “Anyway,” even if it’s more for what it represents for his future than any one piece of the song…it shows that he can do things differently and come out with really innovative melodies that are still genuinely accessible as well.  That’s no small accomplishment, and it’s an even bigger deal when you consider his age.  Holden has all the right instincts for this, a skillset that he can already rely on, and he should be plenty comfortable in the knowledge that he’s going to keep on getting better with every new step he takes.  It’s been nothing but a pleasure to listen to this young man do his thing on Tainted Tapes – and I look forward to hearing whatever he comes up with next.  Anyone at any age would be stoked to have the talent that he already has, and if he continues to practice, practice, practice, there’s no doubt about his bright future ahead.

Find out more about Holden Garcia from his official pages below!

Official website:  https://holdengarciamusic.com

Link page:  https://holdengarciamusic.com/about/links

Tainted Tapes:  https://holdengarciamusic.com/music/releases/tainted-tapes

Bandcamp:  https://holdengarciamusic.bandcamp.com/album/tainted-tapes

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/album/39HMkvGJ74dFDTGGBzFcDE

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