Aside from a clear nod to The Beatles in both name and compositional quality, The Lonely Hearts are decidedly Americana-pop. More Neil & Crazy Horse than Nashville Skyline-Dylan, but mixing comfortably with both, The Lonely Hearts do the impossible: they live up to their influences. Combining their sacred roots, The Lonely Hearts modern comparisons fit soundly between the modern pop sheen of the Wallflowers and the jangle of the Gin Blossoms or Tom Petty.
Born and raised in Texas, Will and Josiah Holland grew up tall and they grew right on the institutions of American rock and country music. Born to music loving parents, the boys were indoctrinated from the start with heavy does of Gram Parsons, Neil Young, The Band, Emmylou Harris, Springsteen and, of course, Dylan. With so much music in the air, it wasn’t long until the two started exploring their own musical abilities. Both brothers were wholly devoted to the guitar by age 12, each eventually adding piano, bass and an aptitude for experimenting with everything they came across.
After exploring a number of high school bands individually, the brothers Holland decided to join forces, eventually moving to Nashville and hooking up with drummer extraordinaire Timothy “Yogi” Watts. Will, in particular, demonstrated a strong talent for songwriting, though his initial work was influenced more by then-current styles in Emo and Indie rock than the essence of his musical taste. As a result, though these collaborative projects were promising enough to win listener and label attention, the music itself never truly struck a cord with the heart of the writer.
In the summer of 2003, Will made a categorical shift in direction. Taking St. John and Sir Paul as his mentors and the roots of Americana as inspiration, Will Holland set out to write the music he truly loved. With the addition of stellar guitarist Steven Barlow to the group, The Lonely Hearts were born and headed into the Missouri studio of friend and producer Oran Thornton. Undaunted by the over-saturation of the Americana genre and the dime-a-dozen bands who frequently record in it, The Lonely Hearts aimed to create something that would truly make a mark on the musical landscape. The result is nothing short of a great American record.
Already generating a tremendous buzz among insiders who’ve heard the record, The Lonely Hearts are experiencing an immediate positive reaction to their modern-meets-classic music. The band’s sleeper hit “Passive Aggressive” was tapped as lead track on the’05 sampler Ten Out Of Tenn, which was sponsored by both PASTE Magazine and MySpace, and also included Griffin House and Kate York. Hailing the song as “a sensational standout track”, Nashville RAGE’s preview of the forthcoming debut praised the band for heading “down the road Wilco were traveling with their pop masterpiece Summerteeth". Accomplished performers, The Lonely Hearts will turn their formidable presence as a live act to their favor in 2006, touring from February on in support of their full-length debut Paper Tapes, due out March 7th.
