As the norm, Sunday afternoon I headed out to complete a few errands. The Mazda3 Time Machine is in peak form, mind you, and I felt the urge to lose myself in the past—but the stretch of roadway I traveled precluded breaking the 88mph barrier needed to push the Flux Capacitor V8 into gear. For a change, however, I didn’t mind. The strum of an acoustic guitar floated from the speakers. A gentle rhythm kicked in. And two voices joined as one: “I’m ready to let go of the things that I can’t control/I wanna embrace what happens and just go with the flow.” It was almost akin to listening to a self-help guru duo sing from the Little Book of Calm: “Good luck will come and go/Some things you can’t control/Just gotta make the most/Lets dance into the unknown…”
My tongue’s in cheek with the Little Book of Calm crack, I hasten to add.
For those not in the know: Hollow Coves are a folk-flavored duo from Australia’s Gold Coast. They released their first EP in 2014, their first album five years later and, last week, shared their sophomore long player with the world. Younger generations have likely heard them before, as their songs have provided the soundtrack to countless TikTok videos and Instagram Reels, plus attracted 200+ million views on YouTube. My hunch is that many music fans—especially those of a certain vintage—are unfamiliar with them, however. Nothing to Lose should change that. At times, they sound somewhat like the Everly Brothers fronting the Gin Blossoms, aka a tonic for the ears.
The album’s 11 songs are mostly mid-tempo nuggets that speak to life in the digital age. The sad truth is that social media guarantees an overload of negativity for many users, from every subject under the sun somehow becoming political fodder to feelings of inadequacy. Studies show, for example, that some people, especially the young, compare their lives to posts and pictures that present polished spins on reality. It’s one reason why so many experience anxiety and self-esteem issues. Hollow Coves encourages listeners to look away from their phones and appreciate analog life.
“Photographs,” to that end, celebrates two things that have fast become relics of a bygone age: photo albums and journals. “Dusty albums stored for years/Journals kept to void her fears/And even though nothings the same/Her legacy never fades.” Such photo books unearth memories beyond what’s captured in the pictures, after all, from the person who snapped the images to whoever arranged them on the page, while old journals preserve the oft-boring ephemera that makes up a person’s life.
Such journals show that life isn’t a series of curated vignettes, in other words. Proverbial potholes—and even figurative fallen trees blocking the roadway—are customary. “Letting Go” speaks to such setbacks and starting over: “This life’s a journey, it’s made me who I am/So let’s embrace it and turn the page, my friend/I don’t regret it, it opened up my world/I’m starting over, back where I belong, to returning home and starting over.” The album closes with “See You Soon,” about reconnecting with an old friend over shared memories.
There’s much here to like.
The Old Grey Cat 