HOLLOW RIVER
Aspartame
Toronto, Canada
Hollow River has delivered with their latest single, ‘Aspartame’. It's a 00s rock/rap track that feels so right. It's catchy, full of attitude and houses harsh guitar tones that feel nostalgic. They bark and bite while the vocals sit high above it all, pelting us with line after line of witty lyrics either sung or rapped. It comes together to form a sound that I can't believe we haven’t had an overload of. It is as if Hollow River jumped onto a trend that was never there, so they built it from the ground up, now its a wonder there are not 500 Hollow River copy-cats. Soon there will be.
‘Aspartame’ starts fast, gets to the point, and continues to grow and layer as it plays. Ukulele and subtle percussion underline the vocals that strike hard and fit into this niche of sound perfectly. When the rest of the instruments set in it's an amalgam of nostalgic twists and turns. Drums that slam, guitars that hum and a bass that follows along happily, wandering every so often to add some flavour but being sure to be back in time for the chorus that is deserving of a jumping, thumping crowd. If you’re pining for the 90s, Hollow River will take you there bust all the speakers and flash you forward so fast you won’t have time to say, bite me.
A cracking track that you just have to listen to, on max, in the garden, with some friends (perhaps some diet coke). - FREDDIE MCKEE