With a soulful take on the now-familiar, Wilco-godfathered, Chicago-indie sound, Hollyy are the future of retro rock. Sitting on an EP’s worth of alt-soul hits that are as cool as they are fit for a muggy day in their Midwest locale, the Miss the Feeling EP complements the R&B swagger of Leon Bridges and Son Little.
But before unleashing the EP, the band is providing us another taste of it in the form of “Beach,” a reflective, end-of-the-summer ballad to the summer that—in the case of 2020—should have been. “A lot of our music tends to come from an introspective take on the experience of genuine, loving relationships, and the accompanying heartbreak and coming-of-age themes when you’re in your mid-twenties,” the band shares. “‘Beach’ goes a step further and was also written from the perspective of feeling trapped or confined in a space and longing to break free towards better days. It was certainly a fun song to make and record and we actually made quite a few tweaks and edits to its final version from what Rafael first wrote four years ago to what it became today.
On top of the single, the four-piece are sharing a video, capturing the feeling of a spontaneous romantic connection, as strangers meet at Montrose Beach on the city’s North Side and become something of an item as they make their way downtown. “The Beach video was topped off by one of our talented and dear videographer friends Wale Sanni, who essentially was just able to capture crisp angles of a Chicago Summer and Fall setting with a story board that highlights an easy-going relationship while staying true to themes of reaching for more, freedom, and seaside imagery.”
Watch the video below, and pre-save the EP on Spotify here.
