Her Space Holiday - Xoxo Panda and the New Kid Revival

The new album from Her Space Holiday (Marc Bianchi) is heavy on folk and light on electronics. This is fine for me but many of his fans may not like his choice of using real instruments over the computer bleeps and blips of albums past.

`Xoxo Panda and the New Kid Revival` is a nice little album that doesn`t reinvent the wheel but still manages to catch your ear. From the hand claps on `The New Kid Revival` or the shoegazeyness of `Four Tapping Shoes and a Kiss` the album has nice, sweet little tunes that are easy to enjoy. The real shame is that it`s a good album but compared to all the other "indie folk" out there, it needs something more to really stand out.

I do like the fact that Bianchi`s sound has morphed with every release, proving he is just as comfortable with sampling and drum programming as he is around live instruments. Compared to his previous work on Her Space Holiday, this album shows Marc growing up and trying different things. Whether his audience is ready for a change is a different story.

6 out of 10

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