“There are two versions of this album,” says Hollow Hand’s Max Kinghorn-Mills. “But there’s only one that exists.”
Kinghorn-Mills is reflecting on a period when he was at something of a crossroads. He had written songs for his forthcoming fourth album but, after coming back off tour, something needed to change. “When I listened back to where I’d left the album, it wasn't exciting enough for me,” he says. “I was like: that's not really what I want to do anymore.”
Since releasing 2023’s Your Own Adventure – which drew acclaim from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, and Shindig! – he found himself touring and collaborating with a variety of other artists. Hollow Hand became the house band for Caitlin Rose on tour, while Kinghorn-Mills was also collaborating with Aoife Nessa Frances and playing in her touring band. There was countless exposure to incredible Irish bands along the way, and then came a sold-out European tour with Hollow Hand supporting MJ Lenderman. When Kinghorn-Mills came back he was bursting with a newfound creative zeal. “Seeing all these different types of bands play, it just made me reflect,” he says. “It makes you step up your game and it creates a feeling that you want to do better. I don't want to ever feel like I'm going through the motions so I decided to start again.”
Hollow Hand has always been a vehicle for Kinghorn-Mills’ songs, and it remains so, but having felt the spark and connectivity of being around more bands, he decided to change tack. “The way I've made albums previously has usually been huddled away in the tradition of a bedroom producer,” says Kinghorn-Mills. “But with this one I expanded my horizons and it made me realise there's so much more to playing, and being in a band, than just recording the songs.”
Along with Oliver Newton (drums) and Leo Clarke (bass) they got together in their new studio space in Brighton and tracked the songs live as a band. “With three of us being involved from the beginning, and all invested in it together, it feels like a group effort, which is a new thing for us,” Kinghorn-Mills says. “Our studio became really important as a creative space and, while it’s not Abbey Road, we were really able to up the production value.”
The album is littered with similar examples of Kinghorn-Mills’ hook-laden songcraft, which is boosted by a production that is rich, warm and engulfing. Clarence Clarity was brought on board to mix the album too. “We’re not in his usual wheelhouse as he works mainly in the hyperpop world,” Kinghorn-Mills explains. “But I was really excited to hand him the artistic freedom in mixing the album and he's brought something totally new, exciting and unique to the sound.”
The result is a record in which you can feel the fun coursing through it, as the zest of a reconfigured and tightly-knit group of musicians burns as brightly as the beautifully melodic and unique songs that they’ve carved out. “It feels closer to the goal of sounding like a band playing live than anything else I've made before,” says Kinghorn-Mills. “I guess I needed that difficult time to find myself because I feel completely rejuvenated after making this record.”