YOU’VE HEARD THIS story a million times. It began in some elusive garage in the mid-1960s with the convergence of early American rock ‘n’ roll and its sweeter British counterpart.Then hundreds of bands popped up playing similar songs—a little Beatles, a little Stones and a whole lot of suburban angst shooting through Vox amplifiers. In 2009, garage rockers still exist and they remain as marginalized as ever. One of the scene’s most notable outfits is a band out of Jersey City called The Black Hollies.The group just released Softly Towards The Light, its third record on Ernest Jenning Record Co., and you can catch a performance at Maxwell’s Nov. 25.
Softly Towards The Light presents a great entry point for investigating the band. Lead single “Gloomy Monday Morning” lands on the soulful side of straight-ahead Nuggets garage rock. It’s equal parts Revolver, Animals and early White Stripes with a stomp chorus of “Baby let me be your man/On top of your lonely times.”This smoothly transitions into the remarkably similar-sounding “When You’re Not There”—a flip we’ve heard so many times that it’s most reminiscent of a throwback DJ set at one of those ever-popular 45 rpm singles nights. For Justin Angelo Morey, lead singer and songwriter of The Black Hollies, this balanced DJ feel is the whole point.
“People are picking and choosing what kind of shows they want to go to because of economics right now,” explains Mercy. “I want to give everyone in that room their money’s worth. It’s not like we just plow through the set.We like to make it like a great DJ playing background music.When people get mental and really let loose, I’m into that, but people can also lay back and enjoy themselves.”
The Black Hollies also shows how traditionally nave garage band aesthetics have evolved into a very specific art form.Whereas a random Nuggets-era band—say The Vagrants or The Strangeloves—played “Louie, Louie” at dances and saved up money for a day of studio time,The Black Hollies avoids digital technology and other modern amenities by choice.The group purposely uses outdated four- and eight-tracks (a few of which actually exploded when tracking the new album) and meticulously arranges each composition for full band recording sessions that contain little to no overdubs. On Softly Towards The Light, the tracks sound so close to The Hollies’ forefathers, it’s actually pretty hard for a discerning listener to tell the difference. Morey—along with Herbert Joseph Wiley V (guitar), Jon Gonnelli (guitar) and Nicholas Ferrante (drums)—pull it off as well as one could expect.
“When we first started The Black Hollies, it wasn’t like, ‘We’re gonna make it sound like this and if it doesn’t, we’re giving up.’ It’s really weird. I don’t necessarily spend a lot of time trying to get it to sound like that. I spend more time making sure the arrangements and compositions are what I hear in my head in a way… I’d rather put something out that I personally enjoy whether or not it’s going to sell 12 million copies.”
Viewed another way,The Black Hollies represents the eternal and universal romanticism of the American suburbs.The focal point of most songs is fondly named Girl, Baby or some vague (obviously female) You. Check “Number Ten Girl”—a track that mixes a blocky, blaring Farfisa organ with Keith Moon drum fills and requisite oohs and ahhs.The chorus, “Number Ten Girl, won’t you talk to me?” is fluid the way rock lyrics are supposed to be. Everyone has a Number Ten Girl after having their heart broken by the first nine.
Morey explains, “Love is a current subject. I don’t think it’s going to die unless we enter a new phase of hating everyone.These songs have high levels of simplicity, but those are the best subjects. If you substitute girl with boy, then everyone can understand the emotions behind it.The lyrics are not necessarily based on particular people, but they’re based on experience.They’re real.”
> The Black Hollies
Nov. 24, Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.), Brooklyn, 718-638-4400; 7:30, $10
Putting the mod in modern: The Black Hollies
