Hollow Shift – Sun Won’t Die EP

The scene is experiencing a resurgence in post-punk, goth rock, darkwave, and coldwave music right now, with numerous talented artists and bands emerging from all parts of the globe. While many of them are trying to reinvent the same old wheel, a smaller portion delivers a fresh take on these long-standing music genres, proving that these styles still have so much to offer. Hollow Shift is one of those music outlets whose music resonates with many fresh and unique ideas, distilled into exciting, innovative, addictive, hypnotic soundscapes that immediately wrap around your listening apparatus and refuse to let go long after the last notes and beats end. “Sun Won’t Die,” their debut extended play constructed of five incredible compositions that previously emerged as standalone singles earlier this year, is more than a rock-solid proof of how styles like darkwave, post-punk, and goth rock still have so much to offer. This Greek duo, previously known for their work in Keep Shelly, avoids all cliches and aims straight to the point, and that’s delivering a one-of-a-kind listening experience worth repeating over and over again. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Hollow Shift avoids straightforward exploration and rather pushes all these styles to the very limits until they reach a more experimental yet cohesive sound. Although experimental in nature, they use all those fundamental elements of all the mentioned music genres, and use them as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate their tracks to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. “Sun Won’t Die” might be oriented towards qualities that carry all the trends in contemporary music production, but Hollow Shift also implements a subtle touch of nostalgia, mainly those elements that made eighties and nineties post-punk, goth rock, and darkwave so catchy, memorable, engaging, and hypnotic. Therefore, these experiments with different approaches, various techniques, and many complementary styles resulted in an excellent extended play release that will not only appeal to longstanding post-punk fans but also to anyone who appreciates wisely assembled and flawlessly performed music.

What makes this set of songs so fascinating is Hollow Shift’s dedication to the craft. These folks are not joking around with their songs, and that’s vividly hearable in their music. Although listeners will notice the collision between modern and traditional song structures, the details are expertly hidden beneath carefully implemented layers. This extended play rewards repeated listens with all those tiny nuances, details, and other hidden gems that make this material even more compelling. Whenever you press play on an opening track, the third one, or the last, the effect is the same. Hollow Shift paid equal attention to these compositions, making “Sun Won’t Die” utterly enjoyable from start to finish. Each track arrives with a perfect structure, garnished with many profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and superb musicianship. All these qualities give this material the maximum impact it deserves. Also, these genres are known for their dark, obscure, melancholic, and psychedelic atmosphere, dancing from eerie ambient sequences to more pitched melodies, yet you’ll not get the feel that this material is overly dark. Quite the contrary, that dance between darkness and light is well-balanced, with maybe the dark side being slightly more dominant in the mix. Like everything on this material, these soundscapes are thoroughly considered, and they play a significant role in this sonic equation. The way this ambiance pulls you by the collar and leads you through the expansive sonic universe is nearly mindblowing. Hollow Shift fully stacked each composition with beautiful, intelligent, complex interplays between synths and guitars. You’ll notice how all those magnificent themes, leads, melodies, harmonies, ambiance, and other sonic maneuvers shine on the one side while the other delivers high-pitched chord progressions and riffs. Heavily drenched in generous servings of distortion and chorus effect, these guitars serve as a perfect contrast with their raw, abrasive, gritty sound to all those lush, reverby, echoic synth works. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these layers intertwine together without overwhelming each other in the mix, proving that Hollow Shift thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing their music.

However, the soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, and powerful vocal performance steals the show here by elevating everything to new heights, commanding attention, and guiding listeners from start to finish. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything this incredible duo intended to achieve with this extended play. Besides decorating all those segments and instrumentations, these vocal harmonies also provide more than necessary emotional depth and complexity to an already intricate song structure. Beneath the dominant lead vocal lines, you’ll notice additional layers, adding more depth, detail, and power. Like the remainder of the orchestrations included here, Hollow Shift also thought about the rhythm section. You’ll notice all those heavy, warm-sounding, vividly hearable, intricate basslines rumbling beneath the synth and guitar layers, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between mentioned instrumentations and rhythmic patterns. These basslines are rich, deep, dense, and heavy, contributing groove, power, and detail to this material. In the meantime, a perfectly programmed, expertly assembled, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keep everything in line while dictating the groove and pace. Every hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation on hi-hat, and splash over cymbals has its place and purpose here, making “Sun Won’t Die” even more intricate.

Releases such as “Sun Won’t Die” are a sheer rarity nowadays. Hollow Shift scored a masterpiece with this material, offering five exceptional compositions that will immediately appeal not only to post-punk, goth rock, and darkwave fans but also to anyone who appreciates high-quality music, assembled, performed, and recorded from the heart. Highly recommendable release for those who love their music dark, eerie, melodic, and danceable. You should immediately place this EP on your music radar. “Sun Won’t Die” is available on all streaming platforms.