Any of my regular readers here at ChicagoGigs.com know that I make no bones about being a big Wes Hollywood fan. I reviewed his debut CD last year (Playing Favourites) and I still consider it one of the best local releases of the last few years. For those out there who don’t know Mr. Hollywood, he is among the better songwriters that Chicago has produced of late. His sound is rooted in an early 1980’s New Wave sensibility that is not heard around these parts too often, which makes it even more of a treat. There has been some criticism of Wes in certain circles for wearing a little too much of his Elvis Costello influence on his sleeve. I personally found the Costello sounding bits to be part of Hollywood’s charm as I am an EC fan as well. Hollywood has recently released his second CD called The Girls Are Never Ending and I think it will go a long way towards silencing his critics. The new record shows his tight, structured songwriting moving more into a more modern and individual sound that retains all the coolness of his classic inspirations but imitates no one.

"The Hooks Are Never Ending" would probably be a more accurate yet less modest title for this record. Hollywood has a knack for writing songs that are instantly memorable. In that respect he is head and shoulders above 90% of the songwriters that come across my desk. His melodic sense is somewhere between Costello and The Beatles and his band fleshes out his tunes with backing that is always appropriate and never overbearing. Some examples of this in action include the opening cut "She’s Gonna Let You Go", which rocks with a mop-top frenzy, and "Prepare To Qualify" which is classic mid-tempo Hollywood. Wes made some different choices this time around in regards to his arrangements and instrumentation and these choices give the record a new spin. Gone is the acoustic piano that was featured so heavily on Playing Favourites, replaced with a heavier guitar attack that should make Hollywood’s music more attractive to the modern marketplace. The distorted guitar sounds also help him shed some of the Costello tag, which may allow his criticizers to give him another listen.