Hollow Cause

“A visceral, high-energy, rock journey through the television set and media consumption with catchy and poignant lyrics about what apathy and self responsibility means in the age of unlimited information.”- from CDBaby publishing partners site. Hollow Cause marks the return of Indie-Alt Rock Veterans Castle Pines, after a 2 year hiatus from music releases. The song grabs the listener in a driving and abrupt guitar line that harkens back to early 90’s shoe-gaze and grunge with the accessibility and straight forwardness only Castle Pines can convey. The music is a landscape of shrill and echoing rhythmic patterns that create a “setting-sun” backdrop to a lost generation caught amidst the “in between”. A generation of wandering and scattered lives that met tragedy and heartbreak head on with the chaotic benchmarks of 9/11, Columbine, the Iraq War, the great Recession, and the revolution of the internet and social media. The crescendo of the bands playing is a roller coaster of sound that soars through subtle melody and aggressive exhortation. Hollow Cause is the first single from Castle Pines in 2016, and it stands as a testament to the bands own musical path and work with intertwining time signatures and pulsing playing. Lyrically, Hollow Cause moves between pensive self examination in a narrative that is told through the collective thoughts of the world. The lines “I’m alone in Everything” and “How do you feel” give the, seemingly, insurmountable feelings of apathy and indifference a sense of hope in the bleakness that individuals may face. Hollow Cause is indeed a play on words, recollecting back to the historical events of World War II and the “Holocaust”, the title is a literal juxtaposition scheme between the evils of apartheid and the collective human experience of feeling alone and helpless to do anything. Hollow Cause is a commentary on personal responsibility and the indemnification society partakes in, as a majority, when tragedy and calamity occur. Hollow Cause by Castle Pines demonstrates a sound and songwriting style that is mature, thoughtful and seeking meaning through the questions the recording itself employ.