Sometimes a record is more than just the tracks that make it up. That’s the case with Hollow Star’s Listen EP.
By Graeme Smith
The EP marks the start of a new identity for Micah Lopez, the man behind the project. “I released the EP on my own under the name micah but not surprisingly nothing really happened with it,” he explains.
Micah found the name was getting lost in the streaming algorithms among a sea of other Micahs, so he downed tools and refused to release more music until he found a new name. Hollow Star was the result of that search.
“It is really a great thing that anybody with a computer and a dream can create something amazing and get it out there for everybody to hear,” says Micah as we chat about the impact of technology on music. “On the other hand, because music is so easily accessible it has become a bit disposable.”
His new EP under the Hollow Star moniker is designed to be a counterpoint to this kind of high-tech disposability. In terms of its creation, things couldn’t have got any more DIY. “For me there is nothing better than creating,” says Micah. “When I was recording this EP, I would sit on a pillow on the floor with the … poodle laying next to me and record for hours.”
The EP was crafted in this way in his LA apartment before he completed the remix and remaster himself. “I am really happy with this version [of the EP] and think that it is the perfect starting point for Hollow Star.”
So, what is the result? Listen opens with the pulsating rhythms of Seconds, a vibrant early statement of intent on the five track EP. Micah’s vocals are understated in the verse before ramping up the passion for the powerful chorus.
Capital has a throwback rock feel about it with plenty of punk defiance. Surely sits nicely next to it, infusing some psychedelia thanks to its noodling guitar. From there, Hollow Star keeps things fresh genre-wise through the pacy indie rock of Wisdom and ending up on the expansive post-punk of Ceremony, a cover of the Joy Division original.
There’s an eclectic feel to the EP, but it has clear influences. British acts like Joy Division, The Cure, and The Smiths, all loom large in Hollow Star’s musical universe. “I still remember the first time I heard Reel Around the Fountain by The Smiths; it is not hyperbole to say that it was very life changing for me,” says Micah. “Hearing The Cure, The Smiths, and Joy Division for the first time was like waking up one day and seeing the world in colour after only being able to see in black and white.”
On the point of influences, he also wanted to clear something up. “When my first single came out, I was asked who I would love to be compared to, and I feel that my answer was not fully understood. I have seen a few reviews say that I want to be compared to Johnny Marr and Robert Smith, but that is actually not true at all. What I said is that when I am writing music, I see them as my competition. I want to write music that is as good as what they write.”
Micah has taken his classic influences and created something all of his own, and it’s an exciting record. It makes me wonder what’s coming next from him. “I am finishing up a second EP that I am hoping will be ready for release in February and already have demos for a third EP that should be out in the spring,” he explains. “Now that I have finally started releasing music, I plan to keep doing it until I run out of things to say.”
You can keep up to date with all things Hollow Star by checking out his website, and following him on Facebook, Spotify, and Instagram.
Listen is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
