GTGC Reviews
email: [email protected]
  • Reviews
  • Live Music
  • THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE

Hollowstar - "Some Things Matter" EP

9/6/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
 On the week of possibly the most important and almost revolutionary British general election for decades, (As a Labour voter, I'm incredibly disappointed and dumbfounded by the sheer audacity shown by Theresa May and her hypocritical notion of a DUP coalition...shame on you, you baggy-eyed, spineless sack of upper-class twattery! Do yourself and everyone in this country a favour, do another u-turn but this time, fuck off out of No.10!) it's ironic that we find ourselves heading to St Ives, Cambridge...the home of historical political figurehead Oliver Cromwell...for our next band; HOLLOWSTAR. Formed in 2015, the four-piece (consisting of bassist/vocalist Joe Bonson, drummer Jack Bonson and guitarists Phil Haines and Tom Collett) have just released their debut EP entitled "Some Things Matter"...vague indeed...let's check their musical manifesto...

We begin with "Lay Down" and they've opted for a feel of authenticity from the word go...you can hear the guitars being plugged in, the feedback brief but clear, offering the impression of "we're a live band, we're a bands band" and while some would be torn between cliche and cringe-worthy, it's actually a refreshing change...too many bands want the studio mix to sound perfect instead of having any level of character and sometimes you just can't polish a turd y'know? The song itself is quite slow in a southern blues rock sense; the riffs are solid and it rumbles along as standard, coupled with the semi-gritty vocals and a pleasant solo, it's a good opening track. "Holding It Together" follows up immediately and the brief drum-lead intro carries into more of the same as above really...the riffs are again, decent, there's an old-school honesty to their playing, it's rich in that classic style; no nonsense and down to business but a little samey...

"Feel The Burn" has a distinctively mellower feel to it, from it's stripped down intro to the drawn out, soulful notes of Joe's vocals...it's a deeper song and would easily appeal to fans of say, THUNDER or early BON JOVI in it's own way and despite it's tone is far from a mid-EP lull, before EP highlight "New Age Lullaby" ironically takes it up a few gears...it's back to their beloved brand of bluesy hard-rock but this time they've brought along a lot more swagger; it's more up-beat and is brilliantly passionate, they really found their stride here...sadly however, "Future City" falls back into an almost by-numbers approach to this genre and it doesn't incite a great deal of enthusiasm, and closing track "Guilty" really just, fails to inspire for more or less the same reasons...    

If you're a fan of the likes of BLACK STONE CHERRY, HEAVEN'S BASEMENT and SILVERTIDE for example, odds on you'll love this, it ticks all of those boxes but over the six songs provided it really does little more than slot itself into that pigeonhole...the playing is good, the band are good, there are passionate moments yes, but there isn't really enough to make them stand out other than they are a good band...and as arse-backwards as that sounds, it's true. For all the talent they have, they really have nailed this genre I wont deny that but, their sound comes across as, well, boring. According to the exit polls, this EP's election only got a 50% turnout...[5]

www.facebook.com/hollowstarofficial
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    News & Reviews

    Gavin J Griffiths, a.k.a GavTheGothicChav, lover of new music and supporter of bands. Inspired by a mixture of horror and comedy, and fueled by a blend of alcohol and sarcasm...if you're a singer / in a band and would like a review written up, please do get in touch via the email address at the top of the page and I'll get back to you ASAP. Much love x

    Follow @GavinJGriffiths

      CHAV CHAT

    ASK GAV!

    Archives

    April 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Article
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Book
    Classic
    Classic Rock
    Comedy
    Competition
    Compilation
    Country
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Electronic
    Emo
    EP
    France
    Funk
    Games
    Glam Rock
    Gothic
    Grime
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-Hop
    Indie
    Industrial
    Interview
    Jazz
    J-Rock
    Melodic Death
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Newport
    New Wave
    Nu Metal
    Nu-Metal
    Pop
    Pop Punk
    Pop-Punk
    Pop Rock
    Post Punk
    Post-Punk
    Prog
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Rap
    Reggae
    Rock
    Rock 'N' Roll
    Shoegaze
    Ska
    Sludge
    Soft Rock
    Soul
    Southern Metal
    Southern Rock
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Thrash
    Unsigned
    Urban

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly