I’d like to begin my review of Hollow Coves’ debut concert in Cape Town with a disclaimer: This write-up is entirely biased, as I’m a die-hard fan of the band. So, if indie-rock or subjective opinions aren’t your thing, you might want to swipe left or keep moving.
Source: Supplied.
Personally, I feel there are times when escapism is called for, and when I’m having a stressful day, Hollow Coves’ music is the complete antidote to it. It strikes the perfect chord between the laid back notes of Texan band Cigarettes After Sex and the sing-along appeal of Mumford & Sons.
Now with the release of Hollow Coves’ latest album Nothing to Lose, their music has an added edginess to it that translates so well in their live performances, so well it’ll get you dancing… which is what a thousand Capetonians did on the eve of Valentines Day at the V&A’s beachfront Cabo, where I was blessed to see the band perform.
There was a serendipitous coming together of conditions that made their performance unforgettable, connecting listeners to beauty and community.
Perhaps it was the windless evening and the gorgeous sunset that set the tone for the band’s performance, or the full moon which rose just above the sea and created an exquisite backdrop to the stage later in the evening, or the indulgent fragrance of oud and orange blossom in the air.
Even the yachts in the harbour slowed their course to linger a little longer as the music built momentum. Perhaps it was the collective sum of all the parts, because quite honestly, the Hollow Coves concert was absolutely magical.
“It’s always quite difficult to know what to expect when performing in a new country or city for the first time,” founders of the band, Matt Carins and Ryan Henderson say as they speak of their first time performing in Cape Town.
And yet their initial apprehension turned into delight, they recall. And the audience responded in kind.
Conjuring Gold Coast magic
Heralding from Australia’s Gold Coast, songwriters and vocalists Carins and Henderson weave their own perspective on paradise in their melodies, with that all-too familiar chill-factor oozing in their music. But, the challenge for any band, I guess, is to keep challenging themselves as well as their listeners in order to remain relevant.
I think the collaboration of Hollow Coves with producer Matt Corby on Nothing to Lose was instinctively the right one for the band, adding a provocative personality to the Hollow Coves blueprint everyone has come to love.
“Following the debut album Moments in 2019 there was a lot of pressure to keep up and replicate the success of the first EP,” Carins says. “With the subsequent albums, we thought it was going to be easy to write a successful song every time, but as we found: it isn’t easy. We learnt a lot through that.”
Pushing boundaries together
As Carins and Henderson found themselves pushing boundaries in their songwriting and vocals, Carins concedes that tapping into his love of Nature and the resonance of his laidback lifestyle in his home country helped lift the writer’s block.
“Essentially, the South African culture is very much like ours,” Carins says. “Everyone likes to get up early and go for a walk on the beach; go surfing. Being outdoors and being active is important to us as is travelling.”
But as the Hollow Coves’ sound has evolved, thankfully its signature sound is still intact: it’s still vulnerable and deeply introspective – and yet it hasn’t lost its purpose: “The people who listen to our music have probably got busy lives so our music helps them to stay grounded, to reflect on another side of life other than their daily grind. I imagine our music helps them escape the noise for a while – it’s a bit like metaphorically going for a walk and clearing your head,” Carins added.
“And yet our songs are quite simple,” Henderson interjects, describing the band’s partnership with producer Matt Corby as the key factor in the album’s success and the impetus that pushed the band members to express themselves in new creative ways.
“Working with Matt was very exciting. He’s just an absolute weapon on every instrument, a bit of a virtuoso,” Henderson says. “He would add these cool drum parts and bass lines, or rework something with the melodies we’d come up with, and he’d take it to another level. We’re learning as we go and we still have a lot to learn,” Carins and Henderson say.
Living with purpose
Carins’ and Henderson’s words match up.
“We don’t claim to have the right way to live life but we’re trying to figure out a good way to live. We’re always writing lyrics from our point of view. We’re enjoying life, reflecting on things we’ve done along the way, and when we sing it’s good for me to remind myself of things that I could easily lose sight of.”
Kudos to all the band members who’ve been able to balance the limelight with humility. Henderson refers at this point to the lyrics of the single “Nothing to Lose” off the album by the same name:
I’m ready to let go of the things that I can’t controlI wanna embrace what happens and just go with the flowI’m tired of letting my heart change when things aren’t going the way that I was hopingWho knew we could gain so much, just by letting go
“The lyrics have become somewhat of a mantra for me,” he adds. “Sometimes in life we can get into a mindset of wanting to control everything and making sure everything’s right, but there are always going to be things that go wrong. And if you accept that premise, when things do go wrong, it doesn’t have as much of an impact – it’s easier to roll with the punches.”
Looking back on the path he’s travelled as co-founder of Hollow Coves, and reflecting on the end-result of the album Nothing to Lose, Henderson remarks, “I think we’d reached a point where we were more mature and clearer with the vision of what we wanted. In hindsight the album turned out well. When we think of how far we’ve progressed since the release of our debut EP Wanderlust in 2017, we couldn’t have imagined our careers would’ve progressed the way they did.”
And so, on this note, I highly recommend adding Nothing to Lose to your playlist. If you’re having a stressful day, it’ll hit that sweet spot. I don’t guarantee it, but you’ve got nothing to lose by trying.
Pun intended 🙂
