Hollis Brown sounds like the best bar band you never heard in 1972, miraculously transported to the present with their grit and soul intact. Their music is built on a foundation of warm analog textures, featuring guitars that bite and growl alongside Hammond organ swells that provide a rich, church-like resonance. There is a palpable sense of sweat and wood in the production, favoring a live-in-the-room feel that avoids modern digital sterility.
What sets them apart is their ability to marry the storytelling tradition of folk with the raw, adrenaline-fueled energy of garage rock. While their name nods to Dylan, their pulse is closer to The Velvet Underground or The Rolling Stones during their Exile on Main St. era. The vocal harmonies are tight but never too pretty, maintaining a raspy, lived-in quality that suggests the songs have been road-tested across a thousand miles of asphalt.
Start with 'Ride on the Train' to hear their quintessential blend of rootsy hooks and driving rhythm. If you want to hear their experimental side, dive into 'Gets Loaded', their track-by-track reimagining of the Velvet Underground classic, which showcases their ability to inhabit another artist's skin while remaining unmistakably themselves.
Hollis Brown is an American rock band from Queens, New York, formed in 2009 by singer and guitarist Mike Montali and guitarist Jonathan Bonilla. Named after Bob Dylan's song "Ballad of Hollis Brown", the band has become noted for their songwriting. Their music has been described as sounding "just as alive today as it would’ve in 1966 and will 40 years from now."
Shares live recording, analog warmth, stripped back (production style); blues rock, americana, classic rock (subgenres)
Shares analog warmth, live recording, lo fi (production style); raspy, harmonized, raw (vocal style)
Shares blues rock, americana, classic rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording, studio polished (production style)
Shares americana, folk rock, blues rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording, studio polished (production style)
Shares analog warmth, live recording, stripped back (production style); americana, folk rock, classic rock (subgenres)
Shares blues rock, garage rock, classic rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording, studio polished (production style)
Shares blues rock, americana, garage rock (subgenres); analog warmth, live recording, lo fi (production style)
Shares analog warmth, live recording, lo fi (production style); soulful, rebellious, nostalgic (moods)
Shares analog warmth, live recording, studio polished (production style); dive bar, road trip, urban night (atmosphere)
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