The Ones We Never Knew

1	Sometimes 3:01
2	Everybody's Waiting for a Change 3:30
3	Would You Still Have Fallen 3:50
4	Take Me Down 3:04
5	Between Your Lines 4:00
6	I'll Only Break Your Heart 3:40
7	Cheap Parades 3:49
8	Man in the Making 3:29
9	Memory of Me 2:59
10	Velvet Sounds 4:16
11	All as It Should Be 3:04
12	Nothing More 5:02

Barnes & Noble

Do not be deceived. She may be the daughter of Hank Jr., the half sister of Hank III, and the granddaughter of Hank Sr., but Holly Williams is plowing some far different musical acreage than her bloodlines might suggest. While certain aspects of the Hanks' music inform Holly's -- most notably the spiritual angst and the lovesick blues -- her songwriting influences run more along the lines of Randy Newman and latter-day Tom Waits, and vocally she can be compared to singers as varied as Dusty Springfield, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and Kasey Chambers. Williams's lyrics are straightforward, intimate, and piercing in their diary-like frankness, with memorable phrases and striking images jumping out of almost every number. Co-producing with Monroe Jones, she builds upon the guitar, bass, and drum arrangements with several additions, such as the string ensemble the LoveSponge Quartet, who add Beatle-esque grandeur to several songs. On "Take Me Down," a stray, slightly distorted guitar floats in the mix, embodying the dislocation in Williams's lyrics, and on "I'll Only Break Your Heart," a deeply submerged steel guitar is an aural Siren luring a would-be lover to the pain that awaits. Over electric guitar and somber, calliope-like keyboards, "Memory of Me" -- a near-whispered, heart-wrenching confession of the damage the singer inflicted on a paramour -- becomes a spare, brittle art song, until all hell breaks loose in an orchestral crescendo at the end. On "Nothing More," discreet flugelhorn, trumpet, strings, and music box–delicate keyboard chimes render the winsome appeal for passion doubly heartbreaking. The youngest Williams's work is multilayered in texture, intent, and content, and in all those aspects wise beyond the artist's years, making this an amazing debut. David McGee

All Music Guide

It was bound to happen someday -- somebody in Hank Williams' family tree was bound to produce a classy, tasteful album, and that somebody is Holly Williams, the granddaughter of Hank, daughter of Hank Jr., and sister of Hank III. Where her father and brother are proud of their rough, rowdy, rebellious ways, Holly is a somber, meditative adult alternative pop singer/songwriter -- which, given her lineage, might be the most rebellious thing she could have done. While her debut album, Ones We Never Knew, might be a little too quiet and self-serious, it does showcase an ambitious songwriter and soulful singer with a knack for sustaining an introspective mood and a way with words. Taken in small doses, this is quite effective -- she's creating sketches with her words and music that are quite haunting and evocative -- but by the end of the record, it's hard not to wish that she would have varied the instrumentation and tempos a little bit more, adding other sonic textures and moods to this downbeat, reflective record. In spite of this, Ones We Never Knew is a promising debut from Holly Williams -- a record strong enough to stand on its own merits, regardless of her family history. Stephen Thomas Erlewine