A superb mix of original songs and covers, Show Up showcases Holly Near's extraordinary talent. From her poignant treatment of Jackson Browne's scathing indictment of the big business war machine in Lives in the Balance to an ironic rewrite of Laura Love's I Want You Gone, no topic is sacred to Holly Near. War, peace, love, family, corporation, government, addiction-they all come under her scrutiny on Show Up. Her songs Family Band and Somebody's Jail have the multi-layered poetry that do for a song what a high-powered lens does for a camera. I Am Willing is a healing balm in this time of great discouragement and despair; and she celebrates the environment in Jane Siberry's Bound by the Beauty. Addiction gets a long hard look in Holly's reworking of the old sea shanty Drunken Sailor, accompanied solely by Jackeline Rago's driving percussive rhythms.