I totally dig gloomy, electronica/goth/rock bands with women singers (i.e. Garbage, 12 Rounds, Portishead), so my ears perked up to this. Singer Monika Khoury's got a pleasant voice, comparable to Jewel's sweet folk-girl style. The music is pretty laid back, possessing gentle Mazzy Star-ish melodies combined with electronic percussion similar to Billy Corgan's latest musical fetish of spacey synth-beats and sounds (a la "Ava Adore" and the tracks he collaborated on for Hole's Celebrity Skin). This whole CD is good; however a few tracks really stand out (a gloomy seduction called "So Sweet", the danceable "Burn", and the slow 'n' low ballad "City Of Angels", to name a few). Every time I get a slew of CD's to review, I always hope to find at least one CD I can get hooked on, and this is it.
CHAIN D.L.K. MAGAZINE
Vol. 1, Number 7
Review by Marc Urselli-Scharer
Tone Casualities' sublabel Casual Tonalities release the new album by Blue and Holding, performing a beautifully haunting mixture of lounge trip-hop in the vein of Die Larm and ethereal-dark-wave vocals and atmospheres. The first-rate production is done by Chris Johnson (Goldfinger) and Dave Dunn (Rage Against the Machine), rendering the intensive and slushy moods of HELL. One of the most appetizing items from the TC catalogue. Recommended!
NAKED TRUTH MAGAZINE
Issue 10
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Blue and Holding hail from the US and have released this album on Casual Tonalities (A division of Tone Casualties). Blue and Holding are Monika Khoury - vocals, Steve Vigh - bass, Ralph R Kacy III - guitar and Antho - guitar/electronics, and they create a marvelous blend of Goth and trip hop. Musically this CD is a pleasure to listen to, having much the same effect on me as the first Portishead album, relaxing you with its lazy drumbeats and melodic keyboard lines and just makes you want to sink back into the chair. This is all completed perfectly with Monika's very strong yet pretty voice which I find hard to describe except that she sounds a little like Siouxsie on later recordings and sometimes a bit like Toni Holliday of Curve but that doesn't even come close. Again I find it hard to pick favorite songs from this CD as it really should be listened to as a whole. But if forced I would pick "City of Angels" as it's really laid back, "sleep" as it has a really pretty tune and lyrics I can relate to, "Bliss" with its delicate sounding vocals and finally "Burn" for its chorus which is very catchy. This really is an albumto put on and relax to and feel refreshed at the end of listening to it. And we can all do with some of that surely.
STARVOX WEB ZINE
November issue
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by Cyberina Flux
From the high glamour and urban dire of Hollywood, California, allow me to introduce Blue and Holding. Formed in 1994, they have been playing the Hollywood club circuit for quite some time. Now with "Hell," they are debuting on a national level. The vocals, provided by Monika Khoury, lull the listener in a college alterna-pop meets heady lounge jazz style. The music itself is a very modern, urban blend of jazz with laid back, funky bass drums, combined with hip-hop influenced keyboards, and distorted guitar lines that dig in or float along in just the right amounts for the mood of the music. The first track, "Alright," starts the CD out wonderfully with one of my favorites of the bunch. With dreamily distorted guitar lines and sultry vocals, this song should come with a warning label that states that it will make your head swim. Do not operate heavy machinery while enjoying this song. Another captivating track is found in the third title, "Sleep." With appropriately lazy vocals, slow pulsating keyboards, and distant guitar lines, Blue and Holding displays their ability to match the musical mood with the lyrics presented. With keyboards throughout reminiscent of the abaragoney digaradoo, the tenth selection, "Christina's Arms," provides a unique contrast to the poppy guitar lines. Finally, I'd like to make mention of the twelfth track, the version of "Nicole" that they recorded with Slope. Strongly electronic compared to many of the previous tracks, the song is composed with an ultra-smooth jazzy style. The lyrical content of the album could be improved upon, but the musical ability throughout the band makes up for it. "Hell" is a decent debut album that promises more great releases in the future!
LA WEEKLY
May 21-27, 1999
Pick Of The Day, Saturday, May 22, 1999
National Foundation for Transplants Benefit with
Blue and Holding, Dpro at Lumpy Gravy
Article by Lina Lecaro
More than 50,000 Americans await organ transplants each year, and many die, either because they don't have the money for surgery or high antibody counts deem the ineligible. Melrose salon proprietor Taren Avidor found herself with both of these problems recently when the kidney transplant she received four years ago failed, and other complications increased her antibodies. When friends and fellow business people learned of an expensive new therapy that could correct the problem and allow for a new kidney, they joined the National Foundation of Transplants to raise funds. In the first of what will be many events to aid Avidor, tonight's benefit includes DJ Chris davis spinning electronic grooves, drum 'n' bass man Dpro and "electro-lounge" quartet Blue and Holding, whose latest, Hell (Casual Tonalities), marries sensual female vocals with dark, trip-hoppy beats. Also featured are a magic show from Possum Dixon's Rob Zabrecky and a raffle (admission is one $5 raffle ticket) with prizes including local amusement park admissions, CD packages and other valuable goodies.
ROCKPILE MAGAZINE
June issue
Blue and Holding "Hell" review by Frank Valish
With Hell, Blue and Holding creates a 60-plus minute composition of dark, yet strangely soothing mood music. Its palette consists of electronic backdrops, goth tendencies and often jazzy structures framing an overall lounge vibe. Vocalist Monika Khoury possesses a voice as smooth and sultry as a temptress, lulling the listener into relaxed ecstasy. Her voice weaves in and out of the sonic trance-like tapestry of the band's tunes, accentuating the music's already mellow tone. Blue and Holding's lyrics are not shiny and happy, but it doesn't matter. The feeling is set from track one and continues through to the last song and the three DJ Slope remixes at the album's end. Hell doesn't need a standout track --- its consistency in creating its desired sound and mood speaks volumes in itself.
APOCALYPSE MAGAZINE
Issue #4
Blue and Holding "Hell" review by Jim
Gothic music never sounded so good as with Blue and Holding's Hell! The beautiful swoon of Monika Khoury's vocals is the perfect foreground to the lush electronics and swirling clean guitar of Antho and other members Ralph R. Kacy and Steve Vigh. In the same category as Rose Chronicles, I can see this act going far. Excellent is an understatement for Blue and Holding. This is a must have release! One of the top 5 releases this year.
THE FRITZ MAGAZINE
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by aaron
On Hell, the combo known as Blue and Holding explore all of the different avenues down which trip-hop can be taken. The first track, Alright, takes it to the brink of becoming an electro-goth track. The second track, City of Angels, plays up the jazzy aspects of the genre with subtle string-like synth lines. Monika Khoury's sultry, lounge singer voice floats nicely above the varying insturmentation and manages to remain completely separate and unaffected by what is going on beneath it, yet the voice and music work together perfectly to create the mood of the individual pieces as well as the album as a whole. If this is Hell, I want to be there in perpetuity.
VOLTAGE MAGAZINE
Issue number 9
Rview by David
After a couple of brutal years surviving in Los Angeles club scene, bassist Steve Vigh and guitarist Ralph Kacy recruited singer Monika Khoury and transformed their blues band into a witchy, electro-lounge act. Their debut album on Tone Casualties' sister label sounds like a cross between Portishead and Cowboy Junkies, a mesmerizing mutation of trip hop beats, blues guitar and Gothic electronics that has earned them well-deserved attention up and down the West Coast. Khoury's mournful style captures a sincerity that seems lacking from the current crop of overwrought female vocalists. She moves from seductive (on "Burn") to sweet (on "Christina's Arms") to bitter ("City of Angels") with ease. It seems too much to ask that she avoid the traditional, young-and-confused love song ("Time Floats"), as well. But that transgression is easily forgiven. The dark and seedy feel, funky rhythms and cool electro undercurrents make this album a wicked debut.
DIGITAL ARTIFACT MAGAZINE
Number 11, Spring 1999
Review by Art
Blue and Holding are unlike anything I've ever heard before, and their latest work Hell provides a spiraling dream-induced musical ambience that educates the mind and stimulates the senses. Fueled by down-tempo low-end trip hop beats, gentle electronic, bass and guitars that at times hit the neural network perceived as momentary industrial rhythms, B&H seduce the open ear to a new avenue of retroish kitschey jazz beats directed by angelic vocals of Monika Khoury. Tracks like "Sleep", "Christina's Arms", "Burn" and the closer "Bliss" show the sensuality union of blissful aged beats and darkened electronic in a modern context. If these are the sweet sounds awaiting, Hell may not be as bad a place as previously thought.
FEEDBACK MONITOR
Website
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Blue and Holding are a quartet from Los Angeles who describe their sound as "dark electro-lounge". Emphasis on "dark" ---While most neo-lounge combos attempt to replicate the glamourous swank and swingin' aspects of cocktail culture, B&H are the modern aural equivalent of a seedy, smoky skid-row bar at last call. The moody music of brothers Ralph and Antho Kacy and Steve Vigh combines elements of trip-hop, blues, jazz and even a pinch of goth, while sultry vocalist Monika Khoury intones such cheery lyrics as "spit on me, I'm on fire" and "This is the city of angels / but this city's killin' me". Even the drum'n'bass remixes by DJ Slope that close the disc retain enough of the original material's melancholy mood to not seem totally out of place.
ANODYNE MAGAZINE
MARCH 1999
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by Scott D. Lewis
I miss All About Eve. I miss Ruby. I miss Delerium. I miss Blue and Holding every time I turn off the CD player. At first listen, I chalked this one up as just another passable trippy-sexy chick concoction the folks at Swallow Hard are so sick of me writing about. Nearing the 50-mark, I saw the splendid light; this is a remarkable recording. Yes, it's trippy, and yes, it's very, very sexy. Monika khoury's breathy, warbling cooing oozes sensuality and darkened mystique framed by friendly washes of guitar-based electro-smears and slinky, sultry sonics. Strip-hop? Maybe, but much more refined. Opening with a jolt, "Alright" slides into a dank groove and Khoury rides the line between mesmerizing and menacing. The following "City of Angels" sounds like a bluesy jazz standard complete with a brushed kit, while "Sleep" rolls out in an exquisite, ethereal fog. Other highlights include a dramatic tension of "So Sweet" the expansive soul 'n' roll of "Burn", the candlelitache of "You Weren't Here" and the breezy seductive lullaby of "Christina's Arms" in which she sweetly instructs, "Lay your kisses on my spine / Throw your spastic arms around my neck / Put your stupid mouth on mine." If this is Hell, book my ticket.
OUTBURN MAGAZINE
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by Skippy Longstocking
Blue and Holding plays like a burning candle. After a while, it is easy to forget it is even playing. The subtle underlying bed of electronic pixie music keeps the disc in motion.Blue and Holding fool around with the gentle female whisper/gasp/singing methods that have built up fan bases for comparable groups like Elysian Fields or Chainsuck. Hell has a nice modern coffehouse flavor to it --- easily sneaked in between something like Enigma and Massive Attack. Listeners should expect some tracks to be followable like "Sleep" and "Christina's Arms" while others drift in and out like the last few remixes of "City of Angels". This isn't a very complex record, but its dreamy flow of consciousness has a certain amount of appeal to it. Casual Tonalities doesn't usually put out such accepting records to the so-called masses. perhaps this is the beginning of something new for them.
EXCLAIM MAGAZINE
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by Chris Towney
Massive Attack working with former Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Frazier may have opened the door for a new groovier darkwave like LA's Blue and Holding. "Hell" guitarist / producer Antho's 4AD-ish guitar soars over low slung hip-hop drum beats, while vocalist Monika Khoury sings the Portishead blues. Taking their name from paramedic slang for an overdose, Blue and Holding's downer themes are cushioned by the trip-hop elements. Apparently the LA scene doesn't mind their combination of dark guitars with lighter touches (vibes, electric piano), which could be the Birthday Party with a lounge makeover. Rounding out the release are a couple of juinor junglist remixes by DJ Slope.
DAILY TROJAN
March 1, 1999
Review of Blue and Holding's live show at the Whisky
Article by Ian Young
Having played unsuccessfully in Hollywood bars and clubs for two years, the three founding members of Blue and Holding -- Ralph Kacy, Antho Kacy and Steve Vigh -- decided they needed a new voice for their band.
At the Whisky A Go Go on Thursday night, Blue and Holding proved it made the right choice with vocalist Monika Khoury. her hypnotic voice, sounding like anything froma gothic droll to a soothing lounge-pop lullaby, dominates the Blue and Holding live sound. Her voice seems to float along, echoing the saddened sentiments found in most of Blue and Holding's songs.
Standing just slightly right of the stage, khory's small, unimposing frame still managed to captivate the audience's attention. As she gently gripped the mic stand, Khoury would bring it to her face and sing in angelic tones, her eyes tightly closed to shut out the rest of the world.
Although the three other members of the group seemed to physically disappear behind Khoury, their subtle, gentle guitar and bass strumming, along with the electronic percussion provided by a drum machine, created the perfect soundscape to compliment Khoury's vocals.
Unlike most shows where the vocal levels are drowned out by electric insturments and pounding drums, Khoury's voice could be clearly heard. Each syllable and fluctuation in her voice seemed as important as the song itself.
Performing songs mostly from its newest album, Blue and Holding played for a solid 30 minutes, never stopping for more than a few seconds. Although Khoury pleaded for more playing time (she pointed out their contract stated they had 50 minutes of stage time as opposed to 30 minutes), the band wasn't allowed to play longer, much to the crowd's disappointment. Closing the set with the song "Sleep" from Hell, Khoury sang how sleep is an angel / who has forgotten me. / I want to sleep. With that, Blue and Holding left the stage, the crowd still awed by what it had just witnessed.
Scrunched between five other bands, Blue and Holding's set was the highlight of the evening. Besides a talented performance by Spanish-rock influenced Coal, the rest of the bands played forgettable sets. From the way-too-radio friendly pop band Sameworld to the obnoxiously loud, Beastie Boys-style rapping by The Woodies, Blue and Holding appeared to be the only sincere musicians present. Now would be the chance to see the band in intimate venues such as the Whisky before the world takes notice and propels it into arena-rock fame.
DAILY TROJAN
March 1, 1999
'Hell' of an album
Sound Bites review of Blue and Holding "Hell"
by Ian Young
Blue and Holding: file under "Goth-Lounge-Pop".
While such a bastard-child of a genre may seem impossible, one listen to Blue and Holding's album Hell will make a believer out of anyone that such music actually exists. Each song floats along in a seemingly drug-induced stupor, and although Monika Khoury's voice never really gains in excitement, every word uttered resounds and vibrates with a hypnotizing quality.
An electronic-lounge mixture of beats and jazz riffs add to the warm serenity of Blue and Holding's sound, creating a rhythm that just can't be ignored. At first, Hell may seem painful to listen to because of the depressing lyrics, but like a roadside accident, people will be inevitably drawn to it for some innate reason.
When listening to Khoury's pleading, anguished voice on "City of Angels", where she sings how this is the city of angels / but this city is killing me, or "Home", one feels almost guilty enjoying the accompanying slow and steady lounge rhythms. It's the same feeling as asking, "Is it all right to dance at a funeral?"
Most bands may express their unhappiness with screaming interjections or distorted power chords, but Blue and Holding accomplishes the same effect in a subtle, unobtrusive way. In the same way a cancer slowly invading a body can be just as lethal as a gunshot wound, Blue and Holding's lounge-pop hits as hard, if not harder, than any metal or rock band out there.
TOXIC FLYER FANZINE
Number 28, May/June 1999
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Music combines the Gothic sounds of THE CRANES to the trip hop beats of TRICKY. The band's angelic sounds are brought to life by the sweet, seductive, haunting vocals of Monika Khoury, whose dreamy vocals give the band sort of a GARBAGE (with less pounding guitars) to a M Davis of THE MOTELS feel with hints of SIOUXSIE. Very nice indeed.
FAQT MAGAZINE
Vol. 3 No.1
Blue and Holding "Hell"
On the Casual Tonalities imprint, the "commercial" division of Tone Casualties, Blue and Holding's 2nd album flows dreamily with Berlin-esque vocals (by crooner Ms. Monika Khoury)backed by a rock/electronic mix that might be considered goth. But, if B&H are goth, they are so in the broadest sense of the word. Tracks like "City of Angels" and "Home" elegantly cop a Portishead feel, while band buddy, DJ Slope, contributes a few restrained remixes at the end. "Sleep", the album's best cut, is a poppish gem that would make a good radio single in the alt-rock circuit.
UCLA DAILY BRUIN
SOUND BITES
Thursday January 28, 1999
Blue and Holding "Hell"
Review by Vanessa Vander Zanden
Feel the hollow of steady, synthesized beats and slick, spacy guitar strummings that seem to lead nowhere but down. Attempt to clutch on to lead singer Monika Khoury's low, disaffected moans and dismal complaints. Realize that "This is the city of angels but this city's killin' me / tired of levitatin' with this blue, angelic glow / I'm tired of betweens / I'm tired of slowly sinking in this sea of memories" just like her, in the song "City of Angels".
There's just something about the band's astral, yet bare trip-hop grind and almost down-and-out lounge crooning that brings to mind a smoky red leather-boothed club situated under the glare of green neon lights on a dead Monday night at around one in the morning.
The whole album drags from one song to the next like a junkie slinkin' between lamp posts just to maintain her balance. Yet, no song ever wakes up from this opiated slumber, leavingthe overall work to exist only as a sort of background music for apathetic crank users waiting to chop up the next line. In the end, it doesn't leave one jonesing for more, rather just a cold memory of what it is to be numb. But somehow, we're all destined to return to stale moments of self-reflection for which there can be no better backdrop than the sounds of "Hell".
