Australian pop band HOLLYWOOD HEARTACHE who hail from Brisbane consist of vocalist AJ Hawkins, vocalist-guitarist Kevin Kojima, vocalist-bassist Will Parsons and drummer Josh Entwistle. Formed in late 2014, the band has arrived on the radar of the international music scene thanks to their strong social media presence and strong work ethic.
Leading up to and following the release of their debut EP “Eager Hearts” and its lead single “Sarah Says”, the band completed 2 successful headlining tours across Australia. And then went on to support the American band ‘We The Kings’, as well as another Australian band ‘At Sunset’.
Not long after, they shot off on a national UK tour in support of Top40 band ‘Room 94’. All of this culminating in HOLLYWOOD HEARTACHE signing to US based Management Firm, Affiliated Music Group, LLC (AMG).
With their sights clearly set on the future the band has been in the studio recording tracks written by Andrew Goldstein (Demi Lovato, MKTO, Hot Chelle Rae, and Selena Gomez). In the meantime both the EP “Eager Hearts” and the single “Sarah Says” are still making waves.
My first spin through the EP was solely to listen to the single, but then I got caught up with the rest of the tracks as the band cranked out phenomenal bang-on-your-steering-wheel beats. The transition between the acoustic, softer beats like “Carly” to the harder, edgier ones like “High School Sweetheart” is absolutely seamless. However it’s no surprise “Sarah Says” was the single choice.
The entire song builds towards the powerful bridge and a scorchingly catchy chorus. It recapitulates the infatuated magic you feel towards romance throughout your life. You believe that someone else has emotions, thoughts, and feelings for you, when they’re obviously faking it, but you’re not seeing it!
This band is truly wondrous in their energetic interpretation. You know that feeling inside when you’re witnessing something amazing, something so good that your body starts reacting as if it were truly happening to you? Well, HOLLYWOOD HEARTACHE triggers that physiological response on “Sarah Says”.
This song feels like an anthem in every sense. This is the song you rock out to with the windows down in your car on a warm summer night. The driving drum and bass rhythm powers the song along while the guitar riffs and vocals are simply captivating. The whole song washes over you and begs to be cranked all the way up.
HOLLYWOOD HEARTACHE wildly exceeds even the most optimistic expectations I had before listening to their music. This is power pop sprinkled with punk and emo influences and there’s something strikingly catchy and lovely about it. This music has that epic sounding feeling that pumps you up.
There is realness and grit to the lyrics, but without the contrived angst that permeates so much modern rock. Get a ticket to the show, before these guys blow up and you get left behind…which could be just about any day now!
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