The Holloways: geez guys, you coulda showered

The Holloways are in good spirits tonight as they celebrate the release of their new single ‘Jukebox Sunshine’. A week later will see the release of their sophomore LP No Smoke, No Mirrors and they are very certain of what they are trying to achieve with this album. “[The title] means what you see is what you get. There’s no bullshit, no trickery or falseness about it. It’s an honest album,” Bryn explains.

I’m sitting with three of four members of The Holloways. Singer, Alfie, is absent from the proceedings. To my left is sat the articulate bass player, Bryn. Opposite is cool and laid-back newcomer Mike (clutching onto his electric guitar), and perched on the sofa next to Mike is affable and excitable drummer, Ed, another new member.

“We’re sitting in [former drummer] Dave’s house right now!” Bryn says of the current relationship with the former members. The house, which I’ve been directed into, is just upstairs from the venue where the band will host the launch party for the single. “He runs downstairs and lives upstairs. Rob is doing his current band at the moment, called The H.O.P. We still speak to them, there are no hard feelings and they’re both off doing things which keep them happy, which is the main thing, I think, in life.”

That sentiment seems to be one that concerns the band universally and if that means standing alone from what’s popular at the moment, it’s clearly something they are prepared for. “I think we’re the true meaning of ‘alternative’ now. There’s a lot of poppy dance music, a lot of female vocalist fronted pop/dance music and we’re the alternative to that,” says Bryn. Mike reinforces the point. “We don’t really fit in with the scene and that’s the plan.”

It’s evident that they are a little bit skeptical about contemporary popular music. Mike expounds on the current trend in British music. “The last time I looked at the top ten it was quite American dominated… a lot of American artists, thinking about it” he says. “I’m not massively into to what’s coming out of the mainstream at the moment,” Bryn adds. But he does see promise. “The British music scene is going through a change. A lot of grass roots people are getting out, there’s a lot of people doing their own thing, which is good.”

The band has found a new lease of life with the new line-up and they have every reason to feel reassured. But things haven’t run entirely smoothly for the band in recent times. “The [U.S.] label went bust,” Bryn explains. “They ran out of money and completely and utterly disappeared. We were bought and sold like a commodity. I liken it to that of a football player, where you can be bought and sold as and when people like,” he says.

While the band struggled with their U.S. label going bust, the group were faced with another obstacle – a fire at their home – Nambucca – destroying practically everything they owned. And it was also around this pivotal point in their career that ex-members Rob and Dave decided to part with the band. They had to start over. “We didn’t have any equipment, we had to get new guys in, then we had to rehearse them up to be the awesome, tight unit that we are now!”

When discussing the evolution of the band’s material its clear the band are proud of the results. “I think it’s more considered,” Bryn posits. “With the first album we were a live band and that very much influenced how we wrote songs. With the second album we spent a lot longer together writing and creating the sound, creating the songs and structures. We had a lot more time. It’s got a few more personal things in it, but it’s still got a lot of social commentary in it.”

The Holloways – ‘Jukebox Sunshine’

The social aspect of The Holloways’ music has definitely carried through onto the new album even though it’s something they don’t see as being imperative. They just say what they see, which just reinforces the meaning of the album’s title. “We have a song which is kind of a walk down the road. It just came from seeing an old guy trying to climb over a fence!”

This is the kind of relaxed and amiable attitude that the group exhibit throughout our discussion. Amongst many other fascinating topics of discussion we wander onto the topic of musical homage and plagiarism, with Ed expressing a particularly hilarious thought. “You know what I didn’t realise until this year? The alphabet, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, and ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ all have the same vocal melody!” But, as alluded to earlier, the band are careful not to fill their own music with overt references to their influences. Where other bands might, they don’t feel the need. But they are quite ready to acknowledge them. Mike sums it up with the best example. “We definitely don’t rip anyone off. If you grow up listening to Pulp, you write music like Pulp, not to try to but because its the music you know and like and I think that’s how it’s reflected in our music.”

One thing is clear: this is an intelligent band with plenty of their own ideas. They’re thinking ahead and anxious to keep moving forward, starting with their autumn tour. Ed expounds in more detail. “We finish the tour in the middle of November, starting in October, and then we’re playing The Big Reunion.” Bryn continues, “Then we’ll probably end up going to Europe in the early part of next year, hopefully over to Japan and then America. Then, we get to come back and start writing the third album!”

So, a hectic year ahead for The Holloways, but with all the setbacks buried in the past, and with their intelligent, alternative and mature outlook, apparent in their new material, there’s nothing holding them back from gaining the massive attention they deserve.

No Smoke No Mirrors is released on 5th October via Madfish

by Dean Valentine Smith