Lost On Purpose

"Anniversary" CDR EP

self released

Genres: lo-fi, pop

November 2006

Lost On Purpose is the one-man project of Wil Holland, a surprisingly prolific lo-fi popster who specializes in his own brand of emotional, home-brewed singer/songwriter music. He loves to include electronic elements in his unique compositions, and this Anniversary EP features a decent amount of that. As a songwriter, Holland is effective if a little melodramatic - these songs are fairly sensitive tunes with defined melodies and a good sense of what's right and wrong musically.

Opener "London" lays a catchy vocal melody over a nifty guitar line for a simple but successful effect, pretty much setting the scene for the rest of Anniversary's seven songs. Aside from toss-offs like "Ohio 2" and catchy but simplistic "Lonely Road", the songs are effective folky pop songs imbibed with electronic elements. "Thank You Music Guru," aside from being lyrically lame, has a sweet and very pleasant melody, while "Ophelia" is strangely reminiscent of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind" (despite its acoustic nature). "Centum Cellas" could be the album's most memorable song (due to its lovely "ahhh" chorus") while "Black Widow Falls" shows off Holland's love of synths. Overall, the Anniversary EP is a nice showcase of lo-fi singer/songwritery - it will be fascinating to see Holland's next step as an artist.

MP3s (from lostonpurpose.com): london, ohio 2, thank you music guru, black widow falls

72%

Fun Fact: Wil Holland runs the World Landmark Project.

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 7 tracks, distributed by the artist, released 2005]