Some of the songs on the album contain explicit content.
2hollis has blown up in the music scene recently after opening for Ken Carson on his latest tour, amassing a following of his own with his bad boy energy and mysterious aura. “Star” (stylized in all lowercase along with each song) is his first album since his quick explosion of fame, and showcases why he deserves the stardom, but his dedicated fans may feel a little underwhelmed.
2hollis has always been surrounded by music, with his father being a musician and his mother working as a manager for Skrillex and co-founding the record label Owsla, as well as founding Biz3, a publicity company that has worked with an assortment of massive names.
Suffice it to say his mother is a big name in the industry side of music.
Though 2hollis has a large discography, he doesn’t really fit into a genre. He mixes EDM and hardcore electronic elements with his rap skills, creating big beat drops and hard bass lines that underscore the energy he puts into his music.
Typically, what makes 2hollis so lovable is that each time he drops new music, you never know what to expect.
He has a phenomenally creative mind, and his past few albums have showcased this.
Despite this, “star” doesn’t experiment as much compared to the rest of his music.
And it feels like he didn’t try as hard.
Most likely, this is a result of 2hollis not wanting to do anything too eccentric with his new found fan base, hoping to keep his dedicated fans happy, while also entertaining his Ken Carson crowd. Despite being a good listen, it’s a little disappointing for 2hollis.
15 songs long, but only 38 minutes, “star” is a complete album with an interesting beginning, and an ending that resolves decently well.
Hard bass lines and rising synths create moments leading you into exciting beat drops,while still balancing somber moments through piano chords and progressions, like on “eldest child” that really hit you whenever they appear.
Yet, it feels like it’s missing something.
“Flash” starts the album strong, He holds nothing back; a rough bass line begins this song, and the synths slowly build for its first half, before climaxing with a hardstyle-esque beat drop that makes it difficult not to dance along with. It doesn’t try anything new however, and a lot of the album has this same vibe.
“Cope,” a slower, more grimacing track, is probably his best work artistically. The beat and vocals on this song collide into one, letting you feel embraced by the song. A masterclass in production, done by 2hollis himself, this song encapsulates the vision for this album — a dark, impactful collection of opium songs — yet none of the other songs really match “cope” in its style. It may not be the most catchy or easy listen, but it’s one that people can point to and say, “this is why 2hollis could be a star.”
Moving further down the album, “you” is another well-mixed club banger with a good beat, but can be a bit repetitive.
“Tell me” is a track filled with hard-hitting throat punches of bass, where 2hollis uses skips in the beat perfectly, accentuating the moments that the beat is incredibly strong.
“Destroy me” sits in the same tone as the previous track, with lighter piano at the end.
“Burn,” one of my favorite tracks on the album, is a riveting song. Sampling the piano from Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” this song is nothing but fun. Here, 2hollis creates a feeling like no other, making you feel like you’re driving down the highway at the beach — just before being thrust into the depths of a basement rave.
Half the song feels like fresh air, the other half is backed by a musty, dank bass line. It’s a miracle this song came together in such a fantastic way. Not to mention the roaring at the end of the song — most likely in reference to his previous album, “White Tiger.”
Skipping a few songs, “nice” is one of the more enjoyable on the album. Even a potential radio hit if he markets it as such. It’s an entry level introduction to 2hollis, which I think a decent amount of people would enjoy, even if they don’t enjoy his more outlandish songs. Basically, it’s just a generally catchy song with a calmer beat drop and bass line that is really good.
“Nerve” follows suit with a much harder intro, and a contender for best song on the album. I’d say that if “nice” is something that you like, “nerve” is the next step in 2hollis’ discography. It highlights all of his strong suits in one place, and is just a genuinely great song. The chorus is extremely catchy and the beat that follows fills your body with energy. He’s got a lot of emotion in his voice, and some may feel the edginess in it, i.e. “having some nerve.” The creative sampling is also a highlight; it’s hard not to enjoy a minecraft firework sound.
“Ego,” is nothing but an introduction for “sidekick,” a hard hitting aggressive rebuttal from 2hollis He’s declaring he isn’t just someone on the side, but he is the star. The autotune here works surprisingly well considering that 2hollis doesn’t use it much on the album.
This transitions into “eldest child,” a heart wrenching look into 2hollis’ mind. With nothing but a guitar, it really sits you down and forces you to be present with the music. It’s such a drastic change from the rest of the album that it’s hard not to get a little emotional when there’s nothing shrouding his emotion as he sings.
One could argue that it’s a little corny, but aren’t most sad songs? I think that it’s really nice to see such an electronic focused artist step out of the studio and enter the booth.
“Safe” ends this album off, and is a bit lackluster. I’d rather have seen it placed somewhere in the middle of the album, with “eldest child” being the closer, but that doesn’t mean it was bad by any means. It’s just that the rest of the album has so many highlights that the shock of “eldest child” felt right as the closer.
This album is definitely the least experimental that he’s dropped, but it’s expected with the direction of his career. I’m quite satisfied with the album as an enjoyable listen, although I wouldn’t put it above any of his other releases. I’m happy to see that he is still experimenting with his image, but I wanted to see more. He didn’t take any risks, and that’s what is so important about his music.
This album is just one more step in his journey to becoming a “star,” but I’m not sure if it’s forward.
