Holly Williams - The Ones We Never Knew

Holly Williams’s “The Ones We Never Knew” is a very strong debut album. It’s a record that fans of acoustic pop will enjoy. While not outwardly a country release, the CD is as “country” as anything Mary Chapin Carpenter or Patty Larkin has released lately.

Sometimes it’s just best to let the music speak for itself. Holly Williams is an artist who follows that line of thinking. She does so for good reason: she’s the daughter and grand daughter of country music legends (Hank Williams Sr. and Jr.). So rather than have to live up to what the family name holds, Holly went out and carved out a musical style unlike her familial history would suggest. She has created an atmospheric debut album.

Leading off the record is “Sometimes.” It sounds similar to something that Mary Chapin Carpenter would sing and is a nice track to start off the record with. “Everybody’s Waiting For A Change” is a story song that finds Holly talking to an old boyfriend about their bitter breakup (she says she’ll be fine while he thinks she won’t). “Would You Still Have Fallen” finds Holly asking a boyfriend or maybe even her father, if he’d still be the way he was without the drugs or alcohol if she’d tried harder to keep him off of the stuff. “Take Me Down” deals with the pitfalls of relationships. “Between Your Lines” is one of the best Christian songs that I’ve heard in a long time. “All As It Should Be” is an acoustic gem about the way life goes, “everything is a circle in itself.

Holly Williams is a captivating artist along the lines of Patty Griffin, Patty Larkin, Julie Miller and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Those who like acoustic pop with touches of country music should give this album a chance. It’s a very strong debut.