Saturday, August 6 • 12:00pm • The Bowl
With roots in earnest and truthful music, Hollow Wood maintains a balance of intimacy and power that blend together to create an incredibly engaging musical experience. Their anthemic, punchy take on the style evokes mountainous treks through dense foliage. Youth is the band’s nutrient-rich fertilizer; allowing for a moldability often under-appreciated by aging musicians. Morgan Schuler of KEXP in Seattle writes, “Even now, I can remember being wrapped up in it as the crowd cheered, danced and clapped their way through the set.”
Formed in Boise, Idaho in 2010, Hollow Wood features an organic rotating cast of members, a drum kit played in pieces and intriguing live performances. Their spiritual EP, Seasons, recalls the colors, sounds and emotions of weather during each set of months. Best known for eight-minute epic “Little Bird,” they describe themselves as a chant-filled sound taking on more traditional styles. “I think we’re in that folk-kind of vein, but I think it’s a lot more intense. We try to be as powerful as we can. We kinda yell a lot I guess,” he said.
Most “Grey’s Anatomy” enthusiasts would agree that one of the highlights of the series is its soundtrack. After listening to the band’s discography, one can honestly say that the person in charge of compiling the soundtrack for the show’s new season made a good choice picking the songs “Seasons” and “Forget Me Forgotten” as part of the line-up. They do an excellent job at complementing the often-emotional series.
The band’s songs usually start off with a soft melody, instruments playing in such a mellifluous manner, that you find yourself slowly being taken by the Hollow Wood experience. It feels as though the listener is there in the studio with the band members performing right next to him/her.
As the songs progress, the lead vocals gradually make their way into the music, and the raspy quality of the lead singer’s vocal allows for an even more organic musical feel.
By the time the other vocalists join in, the wide variation of vocals allows for a unison to play out, spreading a certain type of warmth that is inescapably thrilling. The pace picks up bit-by-bit, and eventually, the music feels absolutely raw and vulnerable; especially when lyrics such as “we are not the children of all of your failures” begin to seep into the music.
It is fair to say that Hollow Wood have successfully blended themselves into the music world; and while they might have elements of sound that are “nothing new,” it is ultimately their lyrics that set them apart from others. This is a band to watch out for.