Vignettes: Ross Hollow
Ross Hollow's Fine is a clever collection of tunes crisscrossing multiple styles and genres.
Ross Hollow’s Fine tackles the biggest elephant in everyone’s room. Released last October, the band’s second full-length album calls out our collective tendency to tell the biggest lie on social media: that we’re all just “fine.” Even before the pandemic, our Facebook and Instagram accounts became the places where most of us spent the last decade sorting out who we were going to “be” online. Some folks opted to share every minute of their divorce depositions. Most, however, took the opposite tack: sharing curated snapshots of bright yellow finches or "happy" Zoom get-togethers while quietly enduring depression, battling anxiety, going through chemotherapy, or lamenting the loss of a loved one.
https://youtu.be/UTUsGuZUjAg
The timing of this record couldn’t be more fitting. In the wake of the intermittent shutdowns and closures, COVID has forced too many of us to reckon with the dark underbelly of our social lives. Going out every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon sure seemed like the epitome of folks who making the most of their limited times in their mortal coils. But all that time away from the brewpubs and amphitheaters also forced us to realize that we were using too many nights out, and too much booze, to deal with the reality that we weren’t 100% comfortable inside our own heads.
Fine lives up to Ross Hollow’s self-billing as a “multi-genre” band. Stylistically, the songs range from rock anthems to 60’s surfing tunes to the blues to swinging country tracks. The production quality is pristine. Each track is sharp, and the range of instrumentation layers well with snappy melodies and the thoughtful lyricism.
When the curtains of quarantine are finally lifted, spending one of those Friday or Saturday’s checking out the band is completely worth the time. In the meantime, please consider supporting the band with something more than a few Spotify spins. Consider buying Fine or their freshman album, Horizon. You can also “tip” the band via Venmo or PayPal.
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/rosshollow
Fine forces the attentive listener to accept the reality that life is messy, and that we all struggle. Sometimes the most basic shit is the most impossible shit. Sometimes it’s all we can do to open up that doctor’s bill, get online, and pay the damn thing. Admitting that, Ross Hollow shows us, is perfectly okay. In fact, it’s completely and utterly fine.
Keep a lookout for our in-depth profile on Ross Hollow, coming this spring.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Greg Kicinski of Greg Kicinski Photography