Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
This CD had me hooked in about 10 seconds, and I can't begin to tell you why. Maybe it's the minor-key feel of 'Miss The Plane' that puts me in mind of Radiohead (please, Hollis, don't be offended by the comparison!), maybe it's the conversational bent of the lyrics, maybe it's the sheer confidence that these guys exude. But damn, I am bowled over.
As near I can tell, Hollis writes these striking songs about relationships in various stages of being, and McGregor is a multi-instrumentalist who gives the songs their power and shape. It's a combination that works - there's a strong symbiotic relationship at work here, with each side's strengths complimenting the other's. Songs like 'Dropped You' have a shambling power that display equal parts wit and determination - and the verse about Hollis wishing he was Patrick Swayze is a hoot. This is bar music of the highest order - Hollis is constantly on the make, dancing and drinking and promising and grooving on the possibilities and mysteries of the fairer sex.
But not exclusively - 'Simon' is a story (one of three on the CD written by McGregor) about being hit on by a guy, and Hollis rebuffs the idea without being mean or homophobic. The song borrows the intro from Eddie Cochran's 'C'Mon Everybody', and it's got a live feel that's good fun.
'Females 1' and 'Females 2' are the other McGregor tunes, and they bookend Hollis' 'Miss Ambiguity'. This trilogy sums up the attitude of this CD - women are lovely, attractive and thoroughly mystifying to men (a universal truth if ever there was one). Hollis and McGregor never let their confusion go sour - it's always delivered with good humor and realization that they're not the first to experience this situation.
Hollis and the Mighty McGregor have delivered a very entertaining album, and it's well worth seeking out. It's not particularly trendy or flashy, it's just a good solid album about the dynamic between men and women. They hit a rough patch here and there, but there are a lot more hits than misses. Find out more about this intriguing album at Hollis Music. You'll be glad you did. - Don Waller
Hollis and the Mighty McGregor - Miss the Plane
I was contacted by Hollis Webb after he read the site and he asked me if I wouldn't mind giving his album a listen. He met up with Andy McGregor while he was studying abroad in Glasgow. They got together and played a few open mike nights, and things started to click. After 2 nights in a studio, this album was completed. This album has a fun low-fi energy to it. Like catching a great pub band playing live. The underproduced quality adds to the charm, making it feel more spontaneous and heart-felt. A lot of the songs hearken back to early Ben Folds Five and Barenaked Ladies. It's got a strong rock, folk, bluesy vibe with great guitar and piano work. All nicely understated so no one element dominates over any other. Highlights of the album include:
In Amsterdam - Has a very "Viva Sea-Tac" by Robyn Hitchcock vibe to it and it has a nice addition of horns. The piano work lends a saloon feel to it that just digs into me. I'm a sucker for some good saloon/jazz piano.
Dropped you - A nice good vibe and funky beat. You can't help but move to it. Plus every record needs a good song about breaking up
Miss Ambiguity - A great melancholy number, almost a Radiohead vibe to it... but much better than Radiohead.
In short if you like Ben Folds Five, Bare Nakedladies, Robyn Hitchcock, and non-pretentious Radiohead-style stuff. Pick this up! You can find out more about the band, listen to music samples, and purchase the album here. (ND) - Nathan Dresden
Hollis and the Mighty McGregor's album Miss The Plane hits on precisely what makes artists like Billy Bragg so successful: accessibility.
Hollis Webb and Andy McGregor met as University of Glasgow students at a pub open mic and from that formed a musical collaboration. Miss The Plane is the debut album spawned from those late night beginnings, said to be the result of a unique connection, numerous bags of fish and chips and maybe some kismet.
There is certainly the feeling of serendipity on Miss The Plane. Filled with joy and yet fearless in exploring the dark places, listening to Hollis and the Mighty McGregor is akin to walking in on that bar band you just can't break away from. There are hot guitar licks here and there, pianos and tongue in cheek lines both bittersweet and tickling. Miss The Plane isn't a cute effort though - it isn't the type of album that possesses that just enough home cooking to warrant a place on the shelf. Webb and McGregor's debut is ambitious, with cinematic sweet all its own, leering from requisites like lost love and barroom folly to the complexities of personal departure. Taken as a whole, Miss The Plane is a world-weary series of songs, which mine their own optimism for charm.
Heady stuff - makes me wonder where they got those fish and chips.
- Erick Mertz
Discography
"Miss the Plane" - 2002
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
It was in a pub in Glasgow, Scotland that Hollis Webb met Andy McGregor. Both Andy and Hollis were students at the University of Glasgow. Hollis was abroad for a year and had stumbled upon a pub on Byres road that held a weekly open-mic night. Hollis decided one weekend to go and this is where he met Andrew McGregor. Andy worked in the pub and ran the open mic as well often playing songs between performers to fill in time. A friendship was formed after Hollis played a song about asking a girl out on a date by memorizing the 109 natural elements on the periodic table of elements. Hollis had wanted for years to release another album (after his first album with his high school band, Tomorrow's Yesterday) but had neither the money, time, or resources needed to take on such a project. Andy, coincidentally enough had been working on a project studio. The two collaborated and after many late nights full of instant coffee, and numerous bags of fish and chips, the album was done.
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