Myra Holder

  • Myra Holder
  • Four Mile Road (Coyote) 1989 

One of the few expatriates of the late-’70s Winston- Salem, North Carolina pop scene who never played in or produced the dB’s or Let’s Active, New York singer/guitarist Myra Holder got help from some of her old crowd on this Chris Stamey-produced solo debut. (Faye Hunter, Mitch Easter and (ex-)husband Gene Holder all put in brief appearances.) Other than one spunky track recorded in 1981, Four Mile Road offers nicely sung adult pop and rock — folky enough in spots to resemble 10,000 Maniacs a bit — that avoids obvious stylization in favor of unadorned purity and easy allure. Besides such creditable originals as “Rosa” and “Billy,” Holder includes reverent covers of Roy Orbison (“It’s Over”) and Alex Chilton (“Blue Moon”).

[Ira Robbins]