Holly Munro - “Glow Up”

Photo by Greg Purcell

From her forthcoming debut EP, Up Against Your Nature, Dublin-based Holly Munro has just dropped the superbly chill “Glow Up.”

A distant synth begins this tune, shortly followed by the gritty and reverberated notes of a substantially raw electric guitar. The vibe is calm and mellow and remains this way even after the electronically-driven, lo-fi rhythm arrives. This one will immediately make listeners take pause, but where it completely mesmerizes is in the vocal department.

Munro has been blessed with the type of voice that we could listen to all year long. And as she rises and soars through the lyrics, we marvel at the way she breaks into her falsetto with such ease. For a track with such an experimental type of production, her vocal is predominantly raw, with absolutely no evidence of digital manipulation. This adds an honesty to her delivery and, though we have no proof, we would wager that she’s spent years perfecting this gift.

As “Glow Up” progresses, Munro provides additional layers of vocals, and the harmonies are one of our favorite aspects of the tune. The sounds of synths pulse and churn along the underbelly of the song, ensuring that the arrangement remains quite dreamlike, with the guitar and vocal yielding the only organic elements. While the entire song has been wonderfully crafted, the star of the show, without a doubt, is Munro’s voice and we cannot wait to hear the rest of her EP when it drops on November 3rd.

Upon listening to “Glow Up,” you may find yourself tempted to explore some of Munro’s previous releases. For this reason, we would like to suggest pressing play on “Give Yourself Love,” another electronically-driven number with a wonderful highlight on a divine vocal performance:

-HD