“We are not the children of Russian cosmonauts. We are the children of flower children.” - Sarah Negahdari
The Happy Hollows may seem easy to classify but let us not be so hasty to judge. Hailing from Los Angeles and being fronted by a charismatic and engaging front woman and lead guitarist Sarah Negahdari and backed by Charlie Mahoney on bass and Chris Hernandez on drums, the band creates some slick music that doesn’t mind to be stuck in a little mud and get a little dirty. Their debut Spells was two years in the making and it’s a fevered collection of rock tunes that feel like the flipped version of pop.
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The Happy Hollows - Faces [MP3]
Opening the album with angular riffs and insistent drumming of “Faces” with the punch and pomp of “Death to Vivek Camp”, Nagahdari strolls and flutters along, seemingly carefree. It’s as if she is an outside observer to the proceedings but soon adds plenty of flair with her changes in tones and inspired imagery. What we don’t do know just yet is how venomous Nagahdari can be but we’ll know to not take her for granted after hearing “Silver“.
“Silver” feels like a slap to the face. The howling Negahdari and the buzzing guitar feel like we took a wrong turn after the first two tracks. Maybe the songs were mislabeled or your headphones are playing a joke on you, either way it’s unexpected.
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The Happy Hollows - Silver [MP3]
The noisy revelation is matched by the seemingly benign “We Will Find You“. The stalker ode has a great tradition in music and The Happy Hollows indulge fully. The song is bouncy with jangling guitars and sunny vocals with whimsical lyrics that soon twist and turn to the true intentions with just a few intakes of breath by Negahdari. The final verse has some great demanding vocals.
“Lieutenant” is an early standout with buzzing guitars and a lush melding of the noisy and pop bliss of earlier songs. The vocals careen around like a creaky wooden roller coaster; you are this close to coming off the tracks, but don’t worry you are under control.
The fun imagery and casual wanderings continue in “Father Time” and “Monster Room” and are a fun detour before the standout track “High Wire“. The song sees the band blend the many facets together, creating one scintillating blend of noise, pop structure, and crashing vocals. It’s a circus act of sound and energy from just three people as each member adds their own unique touch to the music.
The second half of the promising debut is all about surprises. “Turtle and Hare” see the band fairly restrained and aided by somber strings. Fantasy images and 80’s movies are paid homage to in “Delorean” which is a fun riff on turning back the clock and features a male lead vocal and asks the amazing question “Where’s the Biff in my life?”.
The whimsical pining of “Tambourine” featuring appearances by a Republican senator and Billy Corgan and her journey from finding a man to joining a band. “A Man, A Plan, A Canal” is plain fun with the second male lead vocals with a wonderful spiraling chorus. “Second Lieutenant” is a sweet serenade to close out the very solid debut of The Happy Hollows.
The band is set to play a couple of shows including a stop at Cake Shop on March 5th (this Friday!) a send off show on the 12th at The Troubadour in Los Angeles as well as a slew of SXSW appearances. From all reports, the band puts on a brilliant show that is crackling with energy with Negahdari pulling out solos and Mahoney and Hernandez adding some rhythmic muscle.
TheMusic.FM had the pleasure to ask a couple questions Sarah Negahdari, view her thoughts on SXSW, the production of the album and more below.
Spells was officially released on Jan 26th - what was the recording process like? How did you develop the songs and what was your motivations/inspiration in the creation of the music?
Negahdari: We recorded all the songs with David Newton, ex-guitarist of The Mighty Lemon Drops. We recorded the songs in batches over a year and a half. The drums and bass were tracked live and pretty much everything else was recorded carefully and painstakingly in order to get all the guitar tones and vocal layers how we wanted them to sound. Spells isn’t a low-fi album. It’s more of a hi-fi garage rock album, if that is possible.
What does being independent mean to you? Everyone is “indie” these days, (but are they really). How do you view the music scene today?
Negahdari: I don’t think everyone is “indie” these days. Many of the bands people think are “indie” are on subsidiaries of major labels or are distributed through majors. Major labels just make up fake “indie” labels in order to trick the fans and critics. The majors still control much of the music business. Larger indie labels also control a big part of the business. It is pretty tough to be a nationally recognized act without some serious investment in recording and promotion, which generally comes from a label.
The music scene today is quite “eclectic”, for lack of a better word. Although the past decade did see a few well defined trends. It began with the “garage rock” revival, then came the “Montreal” sound, then there was the lo-fi thing, and finally we ended up the decade with the orchestral chamber pop movement (no pun intended), which is my least favorite…it sort of resembles 50s doo-wop mixed with a heaping helping of Music Theory 202.
Who are some of your musical influences? Outside of music, where do you draw your muse (artistic/creative motivation) from?
Negahdari: We are big proponents of meditation, dreams, and surrealism, but our dreams aren’t peaceful…they are sort of chaotic and energized. Some other themes in our music are minimalism and a non-linear perception of time i.e. there is no beginning/middle/end of a song or a verse/chorus. Outside of artists who influence us are Joan Miró and Dali. We also love David Lynch!
You’re making another trip to SXSW. How is the experience for you? Are there a lot of opportunities to meet people and check out other up-and-coming bands?
Negahdari: SXSW is always a whirlwind. We do love to drive through the Southwest, especially New Mexico, on our way to Texas. SXSW is a total crapshoot. Bring your four leaf clovers and lucky charms cuz you’ll need them. Whatever you do, take advantage of the great food in Austin!
You’ve toured with some great bands like Deerhoof and Silversun Pickups. How was that and who would like to tour with in the future?
Negahdari: Both bands are an inspiration to us. They write great music and have long career arcs. In the future we also hope to tour with The Who……
