In my opinion, Hollerado is by far the most interesting small venue band to come out of Canada in awhile. Founded in 2007 by four men from Ottawa, Ontario, the band would soon embark on a very attention-grabbing approach to the music world.

In 2007 the band released their first full-length album, “Record in a Bag.” When you purchased the vinyl for this album it comes in a ziplock bag along with confetti and literally anything else they felt like putting in it.

Overall, the album itself is absolutely incredible. Hollerado’s unique sound forces multiple fun jumping songs and rock songs. On this album, the four members also all sing and harmonize incredibly well.

The single for “Record in a Bag” is a song called “Americanarama.” This is the first song I ever heard by the band. This song has a very unique lead bass line and vocal melody and instantly pulled me in.

The music video for “Americanarama” is also worth mentioning. The band built a wall with little boxes people could stand in. During different parts in the song the people in the back intricately hold up different large signs to create a bigger picture.

Furthermore, Hollerado’s next album gets a lot deeper and meaningful with their lyrical writing. “White Paint” was released by the band 2013. The band hand painted the artwork with a paint roller, so any “White Paint” album you buy was hand designed by the band.

The album features songs that evoke emotional feelings such as “Lonesome George” and “So It Goes.”

“Lonesome George” is about a tortoise named George who is the last type of his tortoise species.  The song is slow with a clean muffled guitar. It evokes the sadness coming from a tortoise.

Another mentionable song is “So it Goes.” I believe is the best Hollerado song ever written. The music video gives you all the backstory on the song. The backstory is about band member Menno’s grandfather who was a POW during WWII.

During him being captured, they were sentenced to death, but one officer took charge and through them in jail instead. When the officer was captured and prosecuted in the Nuremberg Trials, Menno’s grandfather came in and testified to let this man go.

The trail let the Nazi solider free and the two stayed in contact. Growing up Menno would ask his grandfather why he testified for a Nazi. His grandfathers reply was put into the lyrics of this song.

“In 45’ at Nuremberg, horrific words and justice served, but you testified to set your jailor free. I asked you why, you said ‘he was a decent guy, and I’m sure he would have done the same for me.’”

Their latest album, if you could call it that, they wanted to make the most songs on an album, so the went out and created “111 Songs.” The album did in fact have 111 songs.

The band had fans send in requests for them to write a song about. Some were full-length songs and others were only about 30 seconds. Either way it is a very interesting thing to do with your time.

In the end I love this band. Once you listen to their music you will understand. Their rock energy has allowed them to tour with bands like: The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit and Weezer.

I would highly recommend listening to their first two albums, both are equally great and will not disappoint. Plus, it will get you ready for their new album coming out (hopefully) soon.

Cameron Campbell  is a staff writer for  The Dakota Student. He can be reached at  [email protected]