PRESS

JOKER AND THE QUEEN PRESS:

“Vocalists without instruments
don’t always know what to do with their hands, but Acker did not hold
back, windmilling about the stage amid edgy vocals. Guitarist Michael Lux,
looking much like a younger and less creepy Pete Townshend, dominated
the Les Paul while harmonizing with Acker and fellow backup vocalist Katie Brandt.
These five may seem like period performers, but there’s a reason the popularity
of classic rock has blazed well into the new millennium. Watching Hollus
perform their bluesy, all-American rock felt like a welcome time warp”

Sasha Geffen – Performer Magazine

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“…one begins to understand that Hollus is not a city
slicker band trying to make it big in the urban jungle.
Instead, they are rural dreamers, allowing the imprint of
their lush, created, environments made up of river beds,
foreign fogs and other assorted portraits of a true American
landscape to shape their sound. Blues inflected rock music
that dynamically moves between acoustic and electric guitars;
blends the real with the surreal; comes together, wrapping us
in a cocoon of heartache. This is Hollus

“Top 5 Bands You Should Be Listening To”

~Jason Petros/Chicago Independent Music Review

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“One of the top 10 local acts  of the year”

~ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER

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“Hollus produces the kind of music you can listen to and light
unbranded gaspers in a gravel lot with flames consuming the
front fenders of your coupe. Their sound has the energetic
intensity of 1960s psychedelia with the hard edge of rock that
would feel right at home on record and MP3 players alike.

~Diego Baez/ Heave Media

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“The music on The Joker And The Queen not only reveals
the work of band firing on all cylinders, but a group of musicians
who sound like they’ve been furiously dedicated to honing their
songwriting craft just to get to this very point…This disc could
very well be this reviewer’s indie sleeper pick of the year.

~Ryan Sparks/ Classic Rock Revisited
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“There’s a definitely down south quality to the music,
but it’s more Arc Angels Texas blues rock than Skynyrd
southern swamp. They do give us some more sombre
numbers, like the weeping title track, “The River”[and]
some Jayhawk-style harmonies on “Krista Lynn”, which
help make that song a standout.”

~Snobs Music

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“Hollus vocalist Jamison Acker describes the band’s goal for
its latest release, Joker And The Queen, as “to make timeless tunes
that sounded good in our living rooms,” which translates into evoking
Led Zeppelin III and early Rod Stewart. Acker’s rough vocals and Michael
Lux’s guitars guarantee success, particularly on the acoustic-based “Horseman”
and the hard-rock stomp of “Fever Song.”

~Terrence Flamm/Illinois Entertainer

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“…It’s as gritty as some of the darkest Rock n’ Roll
music produced during the 60′s-70′s, yet didn’t come
across as something re-produced. I still haven’t put my
finger on what it is, but it’s there and a feat only
accomplished by a few bands in the present day. Hollus
isn’t trying to be anything else, they are simply Hollus,
a rich, organic, group of fellas, and one lady, offering a
batch of songs that represent the real world. People are
turning heads and taking a peek at Hollus, if nothing more
but to see a band doing it like they used to. But if they
start listening, they’ll realize Hollus is an undeniable musical
force, taking the over-produced world of music that corrupts
sound today and giving music fiends around Chicago an
exhilarating experience for their ears.

~Brian Holl/ Secondwavemusic.com

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“Joker and the Queen, a grab bag of roots-rock
energy, Americana storytelling and Southern-blues heart.

~The Isthmus

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“While ‘Joker and the Queen’ isn’t the juggernaut Good Sons was,
it’s both the widest and deepest material [Hollus] has done yet.
There are no hang-ups for obligatory guitar tomfoolery,
there’s a greater willingness to show soft sides and there’s
less self consciousness to the band now…”
~Paul Snyder/writer for Vital Source Magazine

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