BAEBLE SESSIONS: The Happy Hollows at The Guest Apartment

One of our favorite picks of CMJ, The Happy Hollows, were seen multiple times out and about NYC by our staff. So naturally we were psyched to have them come through the Guest Apartment, and test out their metal as a band by taking away their electricity. Luckily, we only took it away literally; the band had all of its energy in tact when translating their songs.

We often have bands out of their comfort zone in the confines of the intimate Guest Apartment, and The Happy Hollows were no exception. The three-piece usually creates quite a bit of noise during their epic garage rock, but in lieu of the distortion, they improvised an all acoustic set (having never played this way before). The result was a really unique look at the strong songwriting of the group, bassist Charlie Mahoney, drummer Chris Hernandez, and particularly lead singer Sarah Negahdari, who played an old song she wrote as a solo artist. Tracks like "We Will Find You" and "Monsters Room" are interesting on the record because of their sonic variety, and if possible, it is even more interesting to hear them stripped down and deconstructed. And final solo song "Captain Negahdari" is an excellent bonus for fans who haven't heard Sarah's early work. - Joe Puglisi

The Hollow's debut album, Spells, is out now.