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Brandon Holley
One of Houston's best singer/songwriters with a pristine pop voice and a talent for writing cynical love songs.
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I'll Be Here Awake
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Sleep Is On The Way
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I'll Pretend
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At Least You've Been Told
Arthur Yoria EP, 2001
Can You Still Look Adorable EP, 2002
I'll Be Here Awake, 2003
Something Must Be Wrong EP, 2006
Suerte Mijo EP, 2006
Handshake Smiles, 2007
Arthur Yoria's Handshake Smiles bears the worry lines of a young man who has hung his head and given in; adulthood has arrived.
If it doesn't hit you in the wistful opening track, Should Be, in which Yoria, 34, drives a sensible car and realizes "I look and sound just like my daddy," perhaps you'll hear it in the second track, Clean for Free, in which he wants to end a relationship without any breakup drama: "I want to leave clean. I want you to let me go for free."
But it's the jangly title track that drives the point home: Getting high and having sex is great, "but when the smoke dissipates and bills are late, it's time to think about handshake smiles and lipstick spittle in the wind." Naming the album Handshake Smiles is Yoria's way of saying, ``This is how I pay the bills.''
Yoria's melancholy moan is as sexy as ever, if a touch more cynical than on his first full-length, 2003's I'll Be Here Awake. While that was a slick pop album, Handshake explores rockier terrain. Banjo and accordion add textures to Should Be and I Told You Not to Write Again, while brazen guitar licks dirty up the pop on Love Song in G.
Sandy is the kind of aching, twisted love song that has the potential to reach the same success that Yoria has had before, mostly with background tunes for TV shows (The O.C., Felicity). The right song at the right moment between two characters on One Tree Hill could turn Yoria into a superstar.
The oddball on the disc is Jimmy's Rig, a gentle, bluesy folk song that departs from the rest of Yoria's oeuvre. It's a pretty diversion and shows that Yoria can comfortably switch gears in his songwriting, but it's a weird fit in this collection.
The disc wraps up with Trash Bag, a quieter, sincere love song about righting wrongs and having patience when a relationship loses its way. "If you need someone to take out all the trash, I'll be in the next room waiting with the bag," Yoria sings. Through all his explorations of what it means to be an adult on Handshake Smiles, Yoria reaches its strongest meaning in the end: selflessness.
-- Sara Cress | June 6, 2007
Arthur Yoria has performed at South by Southwest. He has won numerous local music awards. His voice is pristine, and his songs are pure, perfect pop. So why, during a recent gig at Onion Creek Coffee House, were so few people paying attention?
"I'm used to it by now," Yoria says. "Coffee places aren't traditional venues, so I understand that people aren't there to listen to bands. But those shows pay decently, and the pay is guaranteed," which is vital to Yoria, who makes his living performing primarily in Houston.
"I see it as my job to get their attention. I always get something out of every show, whether people are signing up for the e-mail list or they're buying the CD."
Yoria, 31, picked up the guitar during an uninspiring spell at the University of Houston more than 10 years ago. It wasn't long before he left school behind and started a band, the Jeepneys, with two friends from UH.
Two years passed as Yoria sang background vocals, played guitar and became accustomed to being on a stage. After leaving the band to focus on his own songwriting, Yoria, who is of Colombian descent, released one Spanish-language EP and two EPs in English. The Spanish project, Con el Auto-Estima en la Calle, was released in Colombia under the name Las Corbatas with then-collaborator Jack Tasies.
"I've been revisiting some of those songs," Yoria says. "Spanish flows nicely. It's a lot of fun to do and frees me up to not be so concerned with how commercial the song will sound."
He is set to release another Spanish EP before the end of the year.
"I'm anticipating touring in Colombia once it comes out," he says. "Possibly Argentina and Spain, as well. I'll be roughing it for sure, but just being there will be great."
But the album that has many local music fans buzzing is Yoria's 2003 full-length release I'll Be Here Awake. The polished collection of radio-ready songs was made possible through Yoria's friendship with former Houston Rocket Matt Maloney. They formed a record label, 12 Records, to release a full-length album of Yoria's songs, of which Maloney is a fan.
The songs are at once biting, vulnerable, funny and sexy. Bouncy beats and fuzzed-out guitars make it easy on the ear, but the lyrics are sad, revealing a character disengaged from life and cynical about love.
She Looks Like You is a sly tune about finding a new girl to fulfill the promise of the old girl. I'll Pretend is a rocker that portrays a man merely going through the motions of love.
Though Yoria finds breakup songs easy to write, he is forcing himself away from them. He suspects the next album will be about his battles with anxiety.
"I had just released the last record, had money to promote it, and I couldn't leave the apartment. It was a really humbling experience. After being agoraphobic for about six months I decided to talk about it with a few friends, and I realized that the majority of people I know have been through the same thing," he says.
"Songwriting got me through it. ... Now I realize that I have to do this or I get stressed."
Yoria gets unavoidable comparisons to the late Jeff Buckley. Their voices sound similar, but Yoria disagrees with the assessment.
"He was a great artist, but he lacked a sense of humor. The stuff that I do that sounds melancholy always has something tongue-in-cheek in it."
Instead, Yoria points to an Argentinean singer/songwriter named Piero as one of his primary influences. And fans of Jason Falkner, Brendan Benson or Owsley will find similar qualities in Yoria's voice and song stylings.
Audiences can catch Yoria with a band every once in a while. He teams with bassist Tody Castillo (another local singer/songwriter), Castillo's drummer Paul Valdez, Pale guitarist Robb Moore and Drop Trio keyboardist Ian Varley.
"As fun as it is to play with a band and as great as the energy level is, it just doesn't pay," Yoria says.
Which is why you'll often find Yoria by himself at venues like Onion Creek, Café Brasil and the Cotton Exchange Bar with a guitar, a mic and a drum machine.
"I'm able to make a living playing in Houston, which is something I probably wouldn't be able to do in New York or L.A.," Yoria says. "I never thought I'd be able to do this, and I'm in no hurry to leave."
-- Sara Cress, August 18, 2004
Lina Fuh