EP review: HOLLOW SOULS (featuring Kris Barras)

Release Date 10.10. 25

Kris Barras has evolved his style fairly dramatically from his early blues rock days, embracing first more commercial melodic rock, and latterly a heavier modern rock style, even stating that last Kris Barras Band effort ‘Halo Effect’ drew on his love of metalcore, not one of my usual musical genres.

However that love of the blues does not leave you easily, which is why he has formed the Hollow Souls as a vehicle for some blues rock songs that no longer fitted within the day job. They are styled as a blues rock ‘collective’ based around long-time collaborators Josiah J Manning, reverting to his original keyboard role in KBB, and singer Phoebe Jane, and for their debut six song EP they have enlisted some star collaborators to join the collective.

With an intro like old KBB favourites ‘Hail Mary’ or ‘Ignite (Light It Up)’ , ‘Borderline’ is reassuringly back in his old musical ballpark with an explosion of blues rock solos from Kris and Jared James Nichols in and around Phoebe’s bluesy singing.

‘Bad Things’ has a retro feel and an interesting arrangement where the Cold Stares’ Chris Tapp sings the verse and Phoebe the chorus, while on ‘I Need the Fire’ Kris’ rapid riffing is supported by Josiah’s keyboards on an impressive melodic hard rocker not dissimilar to the material on the new- look Brave Rival’s new EP.

‘Burn It To The Ground’ sees Elles Bailey lend her honeyed voice to a raunchy blues rocker, but ‘Shotgun’ is even better as Jon Harvey of Monster Truck, supported by Pheobe, roars his way through some a quite brilliant slice of vintage heavy southern-styled blues rock.

All the first five songs are brisk and hover at little over the three-minute mark, but final song ‘Chasing Ghosts’ stretches things out, a haunting slow song with great piano and guitar work as it progresses.

The promise I witnessed at their debut show (a secret set at this summer’s Maid of Stone) has been thrillingly fulfilled. My only complaint is that the six songs leave you wanting more. **** 1/2

Review by Andy Nathan

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