Thu 5/28 @ 8:30PM
New York City-based quintet Hollis Brown has just released 3 Shots, the latest in a series of albums it’s released since forming in 2009.
The quintet is fronted by songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Mike Montali, who possesses a great rock and roll voice. The band also has a Cleveland connection: bassist/vocalist Dillon Devito is the son of Denis Devito, leader of popular Cleveland festival band Cats on Holiday. Dillon paid his local dues playing in a series of local bands, including his father’s, before setting off to New York City to join Hollis Brown.
3 Shots is a pure rock and roll record with guitars, keyboards and a dynamite rhythm section backing up a singer with a great set of pipes. It shows a variety of rock and pop influences from Credence Clearwater Revival to Squeeze to the Small Faces to Matthew Sweet.
After a lot of touring and getting some songs placed on TV shows, 3 Shots is by far Hollis Brown’s most polished and professional-sounding release. Highlights include the ballads “Death of an Actress” and “Mi Amor,” “Sweet Tooth,” with Montali channeling Squeeze’s Glenn Tillbrook; and the duet “Highway 1,” with Montali sharing vocals with guest Nikki Lane. The band takes their name from the Bob Dylan song, “The Ballad of Hollis Brown.” Their 2014 album, Hollis Brown Gets Loaded is a song-by-song reading of The Velvet Underground’s seminal final LP Loaded.
Hollis Brown is on tour with Counting Crows this summer, but they’ll be playing this week Mahall’s 20 Lanes with Porches, Frankie Cosmos and Gringo Star. Admission is $8.
[Written by Greg Cielec]Lakewood, OH 44107
http://www.hollisbrown.com