By Will Yannacoulias
Saskatoon roots-rock foursome Oscar’s Hollow released a new video today for the demo version of their latest song “Desiree”. The first of a six video series, the band has undertaken a truly unique project; releasing videos for demos of the songs which will appear in their final form on the forthcoming album. Founder Kris Mihilewicz spoke to NSMZ about the ambitious video project on the eve of “Desiree’s“ debut.
The demo video series was an idea born from the early days of the pandemic, when the world ground to an uncertain halt and artists struggled to keep momentum. As Mihilewicz explained, “originally when the first lockdown hit in March of 2020, we were in the process of getting songs ready for a new album. When we saw people in the music industry losing out on work, we thought we’d reach out to my brother (Joel Mihilewicz of Big Drum Media), who was definitely interested. We’ve been kinda sitting on these videos for a while, but the last few months have been getting us closer to having enough songs to finally head into the studio to start recording. We just thought that now was a good time to release them, to have something to motivate us to finish the album and provide people with a window into what we’re working on.”
“Desiree” is a great song; more soulful and gritty than past offerings from the band, yet memorable and accessible in an exciting way that suggests growth as songwriters. The video is the first time Oscar’s Hollow has appeared without founding member Lee Harris, who left the band in April 2020. “With the pandemic and Lee’s departure, our perspective and way of working has changed, but ultimately, I think we’re building on our foundation rather than taking a different direction” Mihilewicz reflected. “We’re always striving to write different, new and innovative music; in the end we will always sound like ourselves. To us that is a good thing.”
Click below to check out the video premiere of “Desiree”, and follow NSMZ and Oscar’s Hollow on Facebook as all six video demos are released.