New Song Spotlight: “New Year” by Laura Holliday

This song spotlight is an incredibly special one for me because it’s a release from someone I grew up with. It also marks her Spotify debut. I’ve been lucky enough to see Laura’s musical history from childhood pop bands to a much more flushed out indie sound. With each new song, I can see Laura’s growth as a songwriter, and “New Year” is no exception.

“New Year” seems to completely complement Laura’s talents as a musician. As per usual, her vocals and lyrics are the true highlights, but the additional instrumentals on “New Year” bolster her song and take it out of the typical singer-songwriter conventions. “New Year” is also an incredibly personal track for Laura. The song discusses both Laura’s and the listener’s resilience for getting through another year while acknowledging that a new year does not mean an end to problems. I love this take on a song about a new year, and its break from conventional New Year sentiments. Additionally, the album art sets a perfect tone for the song. On first glance, it appears as though Laura is celebrating at a New Year’s party, when on closer inspection, you can see that Laura is running through the streets with a balloon, again offsetting a traditional New Year theme.

Overall, I think this is Laura’s strongest release to date (although I’ll always be partial to “Sleepwalkers” — maybe we could get a rerelease of that?). I highly recommend checking it out. In addition to music, Laura is a filmmaker living in LA. You can check out some of her shorts on sites like “Funny Or Die.”