Blow Up Hollywood, the spellbinding band from New York, is the musical equivalent of art house films or literary fiction. With the release of The Diaries of Private Henry Hill, their 3rd studio album, this talented and intricate collective of musicians express a musical style that is unparalleled.
Based on the journal entries of a young, deceased soldier from the Iraq war, Blow Up Hollywood takes us on Private Henry Hills surreal journey as he joins the army out of necessity rather than patriotism. Cleverly disguised as a pop song, the album opens with WMD, (Weapons of Mass Destruction). The melody is optimistic but the message is not. The accompanying video's animation serves again to sugar coat its biting commentary on the Iraq war. Henry slowly assimilates to his new military persona in the chilling and warped tracks "Bombs Away" and "Charge", only later to feel deceived, shamed, and despondent by the tragedy of war in "Shock and Awe" and "Puppet." In the finale, Requiem, Henry gives up his puny American life.
How the journals of Private Henry Hill made it into Blow Up Hollywood's hands is a story in and of itself. Last year, principal songwriter/guitarist/vocalist Steve Messina, who volunteers at a homeless shelter in NYC, encountered a particularly pathetic homeless man who came in for the night. Steve talked to the man for hours as the man relayed the story of his son, Henry, a young soldier who fought and died in Iraq. Inconsolable, the man left the shelter that night with only the clothes on his back, leaving Steve with the experience of reading his son's diaries. Three in all, Steve had poured over these journals. He was so moved by this young man's All-American life that he wanted to honor the memory of Henry Hill by writing his story, song by song. And, so he did.
As listeners move through The Diaries of Private Henry Hill, it vacillates from song to song to bring out the depth of the raw emotion of Henry's journal entries, from minimalist to full blown orchestral ambience. The music is simultaneously progressive and retrospective, blending layered sonic landscapes, developed melodic movements, and deeply emotional sensibilities. It draws from the core creative values of the classic rock greats and yet lives on its own plane, peerless and alone.
With this album, Blow Up Hollywood have made the quantum leap from critical pariahs to their current rarified status as Americas most challenging rock band for true music junkies.