"Shine Like Stars" by Holland, Saturday, November 20, 2021

Unlike 2008, 2003 was a pretty busy year in Tooth & Nail. It was coming to the end of the '90s legendary acts, like Slick Shoes, Dogwood, Ghoti Hook, Bleach, Hangnail, and Side Walk Slam. It was the beginning of the journey for Mae, Anberlin, and FM Static. It was the rebranding of Thousand Foot Krutch, Spoken, and Further Seems Forever, the former bands transitioning out of rap-rock and the latter reappearing without the now-Dashboard Confessional frontman. Throughout the year, though, there were many underrated gems. Furthermore released their melodic hip hop second record, She and I. Beloved released their only record on Solid State. Lucerin Blue released four singles from their Tales of the Knife before disbanding. Watashi Wa released their first album, but it's not well remembered. 

FELL LOVE, PUNCH YOU IN THE GUT. Holland's Photographs and Tidal Waves was released on February 11, 2003. If memory serves me, RadioU promoted two singles from the album, but the the band disappeared later that year or in 2004 because of legal trouble. It turns out, the band wasn't allowed to use the moniker Holland because another band had the name. If you search AppleMusic and probably Spotify, there are tons of acts going under the name Holland. The band who performed today’s song was formed by brothers Will and Josiah Holland in Houston, Texas as Somerset. The band moved to Nashville, Tennessee and signed to Tooth & Nail Records, changing their name to Holland for their 2003 debut recorded with Aaron Sprinkle. An emo-sounding rock record perfectly in-line with the Tooth & Nail lineup at the time, Holland seemed pretty well equipped for the Cornerstone-to-Warped Tour success that groups like Anberlin, Underoath, Further Seems Forever, and Mae would enjoy. However, for every Anberlin, there was a Watashi Wa. For every Underoath, there was a Beloved. And for every Mae, there was a Holland. Like Watashi Wa, Holland changed their name. Watashi Wa tried to become The Eager Seas, but ultimately had to stay Watashi Wa to push album sales. Holland had to change their name, so they became The Lonely Hearts. Also like Watashi Wa, The Lonely Hearts changed their sound to Americana. Though The Lonely Hearts’ record came out on Tooth & Nail, it wasn't well promoted and the band went independent after that and hasn't been making music consistently. 

FRUSTRATED, MOTIVATED. "Shine Like Stars" and "I'm Not Backing Down" were the two songs that received Christian radio attention from Photographs and Tidal Waves. I never owned this album, but when I found it on AppleMusic, I really liked the emotional song "Because of You," a tribute to the band's early days. The song talks about having to break away from family to pursue their dreams. The acoustic song with a string section was a perfect emo song of the time. My favorite part of today's song is the bridge. The harmonies in "Shine Like Stars" remind me of a Christmas song, an old one sung at church. It makes me feel very young, younger than five on a snowy evening. I'm looking out the window looking at the snowdrifts, shown in the moonlight and by the lone street light at the end of the driveway. I'm looking out as snowmobiles are zigzagging through the fields between our cabin and the village we lived near. I think of the old Christmas songs we sang when the weather got colder. Our country church for a long time didn't have a pianist, so we sang a-cappella, getting slower as the song went on. There were a few Christian Rock songs around the early ‘00s that gave me a similar "old churchy vibe," even though they weren't particularly religious songs. "Marvelous Things" by Eisley sounded like a depressing Christmas carol. The singing on "Walls" by Emery gave me that feeling. 

 https://genius.com/Holland-usa-shine-like-stars-lyrics