Holding Out Hope
Self-Released, 2025
10/10
The project of a few touring multi-instrumentalists who got together once a year at the Fox Fun studio in Boston, Neale Eckstein, Jagoda, Matt Nakoa, Tom Prasada-Rao and Eric Schwartz flesh out 2 discs of eclectic, memorable and wise songs.
“A Villanelle For Angeline” opens with cozy acoustic guitar and powerful singing that’s heartfelt, and it isn’t long until “Take Your Time” showcases Jagoda’s fluid drumming in a soulful climate that’s got grooves.
Further along, “Let There Be Light” allows for the playful bass and crisp drumming to complement the retro mood, while “It’s Alright To Be Wrong” is an intimate moment of poetic songwriting that benefits from well timed keys, melodic guitars and sage-like storytelling that’s so well done, it alone is worth the price of admission.
Disc 2 is full of thoughtful songs, too, including the dreamy spirit of “I’ve Got Faith In You”, as well as the classic rock tinted “Paradise”. “Don’t Wait” exits, and it carries a lullaby-esque mood that tugs on the heartstrings.
Very tragically, Prasada-Rao passed away in 2024 from cancer. Despite how ill he had become, he continued to write, and a song is included here that he played on just 3 weeks before he passed.
Every tune here is a work of beauty, and anyone who listens will benefit in body, soul and mind.
Travels well with: Megan Bee- Fiction; Jubal Lee Young- Squirrels