Kevin Bronson on May 28th, 2013

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There’s a certain anxiety in composer Julia Holter’s electronic experimentations – the feeling that, at any turn, a pop song could break out. And, probably, ruin the vibe. Holter, the Cal Arts product who came on the radar two years ago with the Euripides-inspired “Tragedy” and last year followed it with the mystical, devastating (in a good way) “Ekstasis,” this summer will release her third album in as many years. On “Loud City Song” (due Aug. 20 on Domino), Holter graduates from bedroom artist to a proper studio, where she made the album with co-producer Cole Marsden Grief-Neill and an ensemble of L.A. players. The minimalist qualities of the glacial lead track “World” conspire with her understated, sometimes-incantational vocals to make it seem as if Holter is merely waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

Photo by Rick Bahto