Surging with adrenaline and emotion, Hollow Head boldly confronts emotional vampires on “I Can See You.”

That fearless act prompts the Denver indie-rock quartet to drive a stake in problematic relationships on their grungy new single.

“When I was writing lyrics for it, I didn’t go into it intentionally thinking this was what this song was gonna be about. I started writing and I think something on my mind at the time was just about emotional vampires,” said Jim Adame, the band’s vocalist-guitarist, who wrote the track last summer.

“We were going through [things] with specific friends at that time, and I’ve always had specific friends that have kinda been in that realm and also relationships. A lot of that was in my mind subconsciously.”

Backed by impulsive electric guitar, energetic bass and thunderous drums, Adame’s honest thoughts quickly rise to the surface as he sings, “All your words are parasitic / You just talk and watch me bleed / I bet you wanted me to be / Another version of what you see / No, no.”

“It touches on a little bit of guilt where you understand someone is trying hard to be a part of your life, and I was going through that a lot at the time with friends and in romantic situations, too,” he said.

“You have this one person trying very hard to be important to you, and you can very easily let that happen, but you also have to recognize this person is just gonna bring you down.”

Sonic Shift and New Self-Titled Album

While “I Can See You” reflects on emotionally draining subject matter, the track’s raw, alt-rock sound comes from a creative place of rejuvenation.

Hollow Head’s Adame and Elliott Miller (vocals, drums) strayed from the indie-folk sensibilities and ethereal soundscapes featured on their 2022 debut release, A Spark of Madness, and opted for a ‘90s-inspired grunge sound on their single and new self-titled album out May 2.

“We wanted it to hit harder and capture some of the old things on the first album, but then we also wanted to bring the rhythm section more to the front on this album,” said Miller, who hails from Midland, Michigan along with Adame.

“It’s my favorite era sonically, but even more important than that, it’s the attitude of what we’re doing, and we want to reflect that era. The ‘80s were really flashy, and I feel like the ‘90s were more of like, ‘Let’s go back to basics.’ We’re just trying to connect with people, and that’s what we want to portray … we don’t have any image, we just have music.”

To bring that sound to life, the band took inspiration from Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Third Eye Blind and other ‘90s acts. They even cited Black Sabbath as another key influence.

“We’re not trying to be ‘90s grunge, but we have a lot of influences from that. More than anything, I think there’s been some seeking of identity with Hollow Head and [determining] what exactly we want to sound like and … what we can create that satisfies us as writers and as musicians, but also what gets listeners,” said Adame, who also includes some of the band’s signature indie-folk elements with Miller on Hollow Head.

“The whole approach to this [album] was like, ‘Fuck it; we’re gonna do what feels good to us and communicate what we want to communicate and sound exactly like how we want it to sound.’ There will be people who like that because it’s us.”

Hollow Head also honed that sonic approach with returning Bay City, Michigan producer-engineer Andy Reed of Reed Recording Company. Reed had previously worked with Hollow Head on A Spark of Madness and ventured to Fairplay, Colorado for six days to record and play bass on their new self-titled album at a makeshift Airbnb studio in August.

“Elliott already had some songs on deck, so once we got all set up and everything, he started tracking his songs,” Adame said.

“While he was doing that, that’s when I would go off into another room or go outside and write the bones of something. And then Elliott and Andy would help me make that into a song and then I would add lyrics to it.”

New Members and Next Chapter

The addition of two new band members—guitarist Ian Gerrard and bassist John Baldwin—allows for more sonic growth as well, expanding Hollow Head from a duo to a quartet.

Both multi-instrumentalists started playing live with Hollow Head last year, but only Gerrard is featured on the band’s new self-titled album since Baldwin joined after that.

“Ian is a rock guitarist through and through; he can do anything. He’s really good at ambient stuff and pedals, but if he needs to, he can just rip on the guitar,” said Miller, who also plays with Gerrard in Sunset Odds and with Baldwin in Sarah Adams’ band.

“In our live settings, if we just let Ian loose, we can just get a wall of sound going. He’s added the boundaries of clean, pretty playing all the way to chaos and he can do a wide spectrum of both. He’s also a good backup vocalist.”

While Gerrard rips fierce guitar solos with Hollow Head, Baldwin creates rich, intricate basslines and is well-versed in music theory.

“John is very technical, and I feel like the rest of us go by what feels good. Elliott and Ian have a general understanding of music theory, but John takes it to another level,” Adame said.

“He thinks left-brain a little bit more so with a little bit of right-brain thrown in there. If we ever get stumped on a part, like something doesn’t feel right, John can usually fix it pretty easily. He’s a quick problem-solver for us.”

With a new lineup intact and a new single out, Hollow Head plans to release additional material from their upcoming album in the coming months. They’re also booking more live shows, including a possible performance in Michigan later this year.

“We have singles dropping every month, and corresponding with those singles, we also have shows planned around those same times,” Adame said.

“We’re focused on getting this album out and hitting the ground running playing as much as possible. I would like us to play out of state at some point this year as a tentative goal. I don’t know where that will be; it might even be in Michigan.”