James Hooker & The Hallows flit from alt-rock to classic pop on sprawling new album Severance.
James Hooker has invoked icons on Severance, an alt-rock album brimming with traces of Nirvana, Tom Petty and Oasis.
With the assist of his band The Hallows, the singer-songwriter flits between grunge, classic pop and melodic rock with finesse, pairing the eclectic palette with rich vocals and a penchant for evocative storytelling.
The result is a sprawling third album that pays homage to Hooker’s contemporaries while spotlighting his own singular voice. The album opens with the twangy strums of Come Back, a fuzz rock cut seemingly purpose-built for an afternoon bike ride.
Muffled instrumentation mimics the haze of a summer’s day, a feeling only enhanced by glittering cymbals and Hooker’s rich timbre.
Lyrically, the track sees Hooker’s lament a lost love, pining through sing-along refrains for a partner to simply “come back.” Veering towards punchier corners, second track Weekend amps up the noise for a blissful recollection on end-of-week festivities.
Atop melodic electric guitars and steady percussion, Hooker showcases his rawest delivery yet, with the flair of a country singer and the catchiness of doo-woop ad libs.
Severance finds its vulnerability on album single and third track Bottom of My Heart. Here, Hooker croons on slow-going verses that later erupt into rock revelry.
The guitar work is as sunny as ever, with a grungier sound underpinning what is the album’s most garage-ready track. The song’s heavier feel belies what is an otherwise tender message of gratitude to those who’ve allowed Hooker’s “dreams to come lose.”
Hooker treds new territory on Goin Nowhere, which sees the singer-songwriter try his hand as acoustic balladry with heartfelt results.
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Accompanied only by sparse melodic strums and slow-tempo drums, the track deservedly forefronts Hooker’s rustic and gravelly timbre, with the more sombre tone feeling like the necessary comedown following the previous tracks’ more upbeat sound.
Musing on those universal feelings of stasis, Goin Nowhere is the tune that might soundtrack a protagonist’s lonely walk home, with a shoegaze flair that tugs on the heartstrings.
While Severance is mostly indebted to soft and alternative rock, it finds equal joy in classic pop, a sound best exemplified on Little Old Me.
With the folksy flair of Hozier or Mumford and Sons, Hooker showcases an ear for catchy hooks and infectious refrains, to the point where Little Old Me will be buzzing around your head for days to come.
The musician heads to quieter corners on penultimate track Only You, adorned with finger-picked guitar and the hushed tones of Hooker at his most candid.
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Delivery the sonic equivalent of a bittersweet memory — equal parts melancholic and nostalgic — Only You feels like a well-deserved stopping place for Hooker to ruminate on the muse behind Severance, pining for a romantic flame that has since flickered into the abyss.
Severance reaches its worthy conclusion on Sunrise, which brims with the sun-drenched energy of a slower Beatles cut. James Hooker & The Hollows will celebrate the release of Severance with an official album launch party at the Cactus Room in Melbourne on October 29.
Find tickets for that here, and in the meantime, get familiar with the alt-rock crooner with his new album Severance below.
