Hollus Rocks With Joker and the Queen
An impossible and perfect pair, w/r/t Poker and aurally speaking, respectively.
Hollus
Joker & The Queen
Released on Apr 14, 2009
Hollus produces the kind of music you can listen to and light unbranded gaspers in a gravel lot with flames consuming the front fenders of your coupe. Their sound has the energetic intensity of 1960s psychedelia with the hard edge of rock that would feel right at home on record and MP3 players alike. Joker and the Queen, the group’s third full-length recording after Bombs (2006) and Good Sons (2007), delivers a cohesive and entertaining tracklist that moves quickly along with laid back good ol’ boy blues and down home country groove.
Each track is not unlike another guest at an awesome outdoor party or barnyard kegger. “Krista Lynn” generates heartbreak in harmony, is soft without being sappy but always energetic; emotive without the overtly introspective and undercooked lyrics that so often stand in for soul or expression. “Honestman” really is real honest, man, like being let down gently after an awesome but not overwhelming ride, only to get back in line. The relaxed percussion and echoic effects on the guitar create an unhurried and earnest impression that adds to the timeless appeal of the album’s overall. There is not so much sentiment in “J.A.T.Q.” as there is a bridled celebration, unrestrained when it wants to be but also able to rein in and rock slow.
Though lyrics aren’t always entirely
intelligible, the performative intensity translates onto the album with
tracks like “It Won’t Stick,” where the hook sounds like: “Don’t
be shy, you can clear the smoke with a single eye”. The image
of anyone entering a bar and dissipating the smoke with his or her own
aura is amazing, but it’s entirely possible I’ve confused the words.
And perhaps appropriately so. According to the Internet’s foremost
etymological authority (Urbandictionary.com), hollus is “the
only word in Chicago that doesn't have a definition i.e. ‘What the
fuck does hollus mean?’” If “J.A.T.Q” is any indication,
clearly Hollus means to rock your motherloving socks off.
“J.A.T.Q” is gritty and melodic, high-energy but modulated often, robust and rough and like always alluring as Chicago itself. I can imagine double agents and drug dealers advertising respective points of rendezvous with catch-phrases from the album or G-Men in bulging double-breasted pinstripes about to make a bust with all kinds of chrome admiring the whitewalls. Hollus have put together an album that’s thoroughly enjoyable and only increases more so with every subsequent listen.
Hollus take to the road today and kick off a tour across Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, playing upwards of eight shows in the next week alone. Check their website (www.hollus.net) for more info.
High Point
Most of “Joker” is unequivocally kickass.
Low Point
The album’s ten-track playlist is one great reason to catch a live set or download the group’s previous releases online.
Posted by Diego Baez on Jul 23, 2009 @ 7:00 am
