Hollow Head releases their first EP, a live record full of trippy dance grooves.
Cover Art by Chase Robbins and Blythe Mitchell
NASHVILLE, TN -- Psychedelic Funk Rock band, Hollow Head, announces their first EP, ‘Live at Gnome Studios’, to be released November 11th, 2022.
The opening couple of bars at the beginning of the EP first song, ‘Blue Gatorade’ perfectly captures Hollow Head’s funky yet angelic sound demonstrated in their live shows. The embodiment of a “vibe”, is exactly how I would describe ‘Blue Gatorade’, it’s the song you want to get up and dance to. The ‘Blue Gatorade’ everyone will soon know and love, has come a long way. When asked about the writing process behind ‘Blue Gatorade’, Hollow Head told us that guitarist and vocalist, Jack Hodde, first came from a quick bedroom recording. Which in turn, bassist and vocalist, Aidan Hearn, wrote a hook and some lyrics. Once presented to the band, each member started writing their own lyrics. After bribing some Belmont students to use study rooms for writing sessions late at night, the band decided on guitarist and vocalist Jack Lare’s lyrics for the final cut of ‘Blue Gatorade’. Lyrically the song invokes the romance of a local show, connecting the audience with the band in a well-done effort to create a lively but intimate engagement. Hollow Head’s technical musicianship and range are showcased flawlessly throughout the song.
Side B of ‘Live at Gnome Studios’ gives the listener a softer celestial side of Hollow Head with their song ‘Last Stop Ticket’. Taking inspiration from bedroom pop, Hodde, came up with ‘Last Stop Ticket’. The song uses Hollow Head’s gifted ability to dip into genre-bending their sound by having dreamy choruses alongside indie rock style guitar solos provided by Jack Lare. Hollow Head expressed, “(Last Stop Ticket) details a deeply apologetic person who yearns for a ticket to reach their last stop home but constantly finds themself being unable to make it when it counts”. ‘Last Stop Ticket’ continues to show the Hollow Head’s range in what they can create.
Photography by Chase Robbins
It’s truly amazing to see Hollow Head officially debuting their recorded music and making a name for themselves in the Nashville scene. Hollow Head came onto The Tower’s radar back in February 2022, in their beginner days of playing crazy shows at Belmont University’s ‘The Birdcage’. To see the growth and development of their sound has been a real joy. At their October 21st show at the 404, Hollow Head announced they would be releasing two songs on November 11th. Before putting it into The Tower’s shared calendar, I put it in my personal calendar just because I was so excited to hear their new music.
In full honesty, I put the m4a files we were sent to the test. Listening to them over laptop speakers and in headphones wasn’t enough, I needed to feel the vibration of the bass through my car speakers, feel the tick of the cymbals in my teeth, the groovy almost fluid-like guitar parts in my veins, and the angelic vocals massaging my brain. Which, if the analogy wasn’t enough symbolism, ‘Live at Gnome Studios’ is downright groovy and nasty, in the good funky way.
Photography by Chase Robbins
And that’s the EP as a whole, getting into the nitty-gritty, I couldn’t get enough of Hearn’s insane almost acid jazz-like bass tone. And after I calmed down about how incredible and clear the bass lines are, in comes Sam Keller adding the cleanest live drums I have ever heard. Although incredible in ‘Blue Gatorade’, the pitter patter of the cymbals combined with the resonating toms and punchy snare were incredible especially throughout the verses of ‘Last Stop Ticket’. Top that with the combined forces of Jack Hodde and Jack Lare’s ethereal psychedelic guitar counterparts and both songs genuinely had me speechless. Hollow Head’s blend is thoroughly understood and the members of the band fit perfectly into their songwriting/jamming pockets.
‘Live at Gnome Studios’ is an incredible representation of Hollow Head, paying homage to their jam-band influence and their early performing days at Belmont University’s ‘The Birdcage’. Many bands try to pull off live albums or recordings of songs and are unable to live up to -or play up to- the energy and vibes of their live shows, Hollow Head is not one of those bands. Knocking it out of the park, by keeping their live recordings of ‘Blue Gatorade’ and ‘Last Stop Ticket’ unique, fun, and interesting for the listener. If I had never heard of Hollow Head before listening to ‘Live at Gnome Studios’, I would immediately check to see when their next shows are, which happen to be this Saturday, November 12th at The Broken Door and Tuesday, November 22nd at The End.
Photography by Chase Robbins
ABOUT HOLLOW HEAD
Hollow Head is a fast growing psychedelic funk rock group out of Nashville, TN. Hollow Head consists of Aidan Hearn on vocals and bass, Jack Hodde on guitar and vocals, Sam Keller on drums, and Jack Lare on guitar and vocals. Hollow Head started with Hearn, Hodde, and Lare, jamming and singing together. First getting a name for themselves as a must-see killer jam-band that played weekly on Belmont University’s campus hotspot, ‘The Birdcage’. After collecting Sam Keller, the band headed off to start debuting their incredible live shows at multiple local venues and numerous house shows. Hollow Head started to cultivate listeners by playing house shows and turning otherwise uninterested crowds into full-on parties. Soon enough, Hollow Head had created a following of fans who begged for encores after every show. With all the buzz, Hollow Head assures there will be more music, more celebration, and plenty of fun times in their upcoming shows.
For more information for bookings or interviews for Hollow Head, feel free to email them at hollowheadmusic@gmail.com
Make sure you listen to ‘Live At Gnome Studios’ coming out on November 11th and check out their upcoming shows!
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