Mull It Over 031: Hollan Days
Ethan Hollan is back with his 90s inspired indie moods on new single Valentine. A launch party in The Black Box follows later this month.
There is a lot to love about the 90s. The decade gave us Nevermind, Titanic, G-funk, Mr. Blobby and myself, even. Neo-liberalism was still en vogue, the United States and its Western sphere of influence experienced what we now know as the period of Great Moderation. A heady time of relative global stability, reduced volatility in markets and no major military crises (spoiler alert: it doesn’t last) - only the 1990s could have produced a smash hit spoken word song about wearing sunscreen or similarly, make Adam Rickitt from Coronation Street a pop star. And breathe, again.
Which brings me abruptly to one of my current favourite artists, Ethan Hollan. Born and raised in Belfast, Hollan, by his own admission is “all about anything 90s”. And you can hear it in the music. Slacker, alt-rock, college rock, whatever you want to call it - its DNA runs through these songs, of which, currently, there are only two official releases. This is an artist who is in no rush to bombard you with multiple singles or a hastily thrown together bedroom-produced E.P. This is less ‘slacker’ and more an artist showing some considered restraint in an era where dumping 100 gigabytes of data onto a website or releasing 34 different versions of your album to ensure it stays atop the charts is becoming, annoyingly, the norm. The point is, I like when artists hold something back, especially when they are confident in their talent and art. Remember when Pearl Jam left Yellow Ledbetter, arguably their most iconic song, off “Ten”? That was pretty 90s; be thankful there’s no ‘Yellow Ledbetter - Eddie’s Version’ clogging up your Spotify.
Ethan Hollan’s debut single, Love Bite, was released back in 2021 with the followup, Forest arriving two years later. On Love Bite, there is no doubting that Hollan has a keen ear for melody and his careful vocals carry his natural Northern Irish accent beautifully atop his Frusciante-like sweeps. The guitar sound is as clean as a whistle across both these tracks and nods towards perhaps my most loved derogatory 90s term for one of my all time favourite bands, The Lemonheads - ‘bubblegrunge’. Here, I reclaim the term on Ethan’s behalf as a celebration of the cool and breezy nostalgia he effortlessly captures on 2023’s Forest.
Valentine, Ethan’s third single, arriving next Friday 16th August, notes a marked shift in sound from the two aforementioned tracks. In a genre comeback akin to the American bro-country that is now ubiquitous or the brilliant Midwest emo return, one would be hard pressed to find an alternative act in 2024 that eschews the exceedingly 90s sounds of shoegaze bands like Ride, Slowdive and more closer to home - Whipping Boy. And this is where we find Hollan on the upcoming Valentine. The reverb has been turned up, guitars compressed, the bass has been invited to the adults table and there is an echo and space between Hollan’s elegant and airy vocal here that lulls you into a false sense of security before the ferocious outro solo drives you off a cliff and leaves this listener wondering if indeed, Valentine, is even a love song at all.
Despite his modest back catalogue, Ethan has been putting in the hard work. As well as gigging in and around his native Belfast, he has lit up the boards at Stendhal in 2023 and The Next Big Thing Festival in Dublin back in January of this year. If you failed to catch him at those shows then please do try to get down to the Valentine single release party at The Black Box in Belfast on 20th August. Support on the night is provided by another rising star in Susi Pagel, who I last saw, appropriately, celebrating the seminal Hole album “Live Through This” a few months ago at the Oh Yeah Centre. That album was released on the 12th April, 1994. Are you noticing a trend?
So, it was always going to come back around wasn’t it, the 90s? When you watch the news this week, wouldn’t you like to go back to a (perceived) simpler time? Perhaps it’s the proverbial rose-tinted glasses, but nonetheless, it does no harm to yearn for days gone by. Watching the current generation pine for that elusive Oasis reunion or stock up on neon club gear that would not look out of place in an episode of The Fresh Prince… or a Backstreet Boys music video, it is at the same time hilarious, fun and a reminder that time is indeed a flat circle. Sports brands too, have had their renaissance. New Balance? Kappa? These brands wouldn’t have had a look in amongst my friends and me in 1999. Champion? Not likely. A utilitarian bronze, at most.
Catch Ethan Hollan at the Valentine single release party on 20th August in The Black Box. Tickets here
The Mull It Over Substack Playlist