Is it a hit, *hit or miss?

Somehow Hollow � Busted Wings & Rusted Halos  by antiGUY

Somehow Hollow � Busted Wings & Rusted Halos 
Label: Victory Records
Hit, *hit or Miss?:  miss
Rating: 

Sometimes there is truth in marketing, at least when it comes to a band name describing a band�s sound then Somehow Hollow hits the mark straight on. The songs have all of the elements but end up coming across rather shallow and there isn�t much variation here either, with one songs leading into the next without much distinction. 

We�ve heard this formula more than enough times over the past few years. You know power-pop with a punk underpinning. Or as many call it punk-pop, or pop-punk. Somehow Hallow take a heavier approach to the genre than most but seemed to have painted themselves into a corner that they can�t escape from by simply digging into the same bag of musical tricks over and over again and never stepping outside of the carefully contrived punk-pop box. While they aren�t quite as generic as saw New Found Glory, they don�t have the pop sensibilities of Blink-182 or the punk edge of their labelmates Snowdogs. 

Underneath you hear something unique trying to breakout but it never does. As it stands the band comes across as a dime a dozen punk-pop group. When you consider this started out as a side project for Canadian melodic hardcore rockers Grade, you might expect something more. This turned into a full time gig when Grade split up and their drummer turned to bass and joined Avril�s band but compared to their old band and the other punk-pop groups they are trying to compete with like All American Rejects or even power-poppers like Jimmy Eat World, Somehow Hollow are just that, pretty hollow. They should have stuck with Grade as the move from melodic hardcore to punk-pop just isn�t as appealing to the ears. Some bands can do it well and some come across as formulaic, sadly for Somehow Hollow, they land in the ladder category. 

You might like it if you like: New Found Glory, practically any band on Drive Thru Records.