On September 29th, Dale Hollow, THE Country Music Superstar (Trademark Pending) released his newest album, Hack of the Year.
The album is an incredibly fun, self-aware critique on love, life, and the ups and downs that come with it. Hollow, with a deep, crooning voice reminiscent of Orville Peck, has always been known to be a bit of a jokester. Throughout his catalog, reaching all the way back to 2017’s Christmas single “Santa’s Broke”, Hollow has not strayed away from comedy.
He does not not rely on his humor to carry his music, however. He balances his comedy with the melancholic message of the album, where he explores his feelings of inadequacy. The title track of the album is the perfect balance of this mixture, where he expresses his anxieties around his uncertain success, while also letting the listener know that he will not let this anxiety overtake him.
Throughout the album, he illustrates this balance by interjecting his musical musings with short spurts of speaking. It is like he is pulling the listener out of the music, removing the fourth wall in a way that reminds me of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag.
While the album is full of slower pieces like “I Don’t Wanna Do Anything”, and “Sooner Than Later”, my personal star of the show is the fast paced, frustrated piece “Cowboys on TV.” The piece is a hilarious expression of the glamor of cowboys in media in contrast to the realities of what it actually is. “Fools Rush In” is a close second best, a lovely little love song that furthers his self-doubt in his situation, but looks that doubt in the eye, grabs his lover by the hand, and pushes that doubt away.
The album is smart. But more importantly, this album is fun, probably the most fun I’ve had listening to an album in a really long time. Go ahead, help this man leave his dead end job and stream it.
Hack of the Year is available now on major streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Percy Sampson, New Orleans born and Virginia bred, is finishing up their time at University of Mary Washington, where they are double majoring in English and Theatre. A passionate writer, they spend most of their free time working on (mostly horror) scripts and short stories.
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