Album Review: Julia Holter, Materia

American singer-songwriter Julia Holter has kept herself busy in recent times, gifting us three albums in a little over four years. Materia, her newest release, is a sort of companion to 2024’s career-best Something In The Room She Moves.

The seven tracks have the same hallucinatory, ambient-meets-art-pop vibe Holter captured so perfectly on her previous record. However, there is at times less cohesion. The album title is derived from a track on her previous LP, with the singer further exploring her favoured ethereal textures on ‘Materia 2’ and ‘Materia 3’.

While Holter’s vocals and arrangements are as gorgeous as ever, the record meanders in parts, no more so than on ‘My Twin’. Though stirring at times, the tune is let down by its over-generous 10-minute run-time. The standout is first single ‘Fantasy’, an uptempo, danceable number which showcases the singer at her
very best.

• Out now.