There’s a storm behind the shimmer in ‘Hollowman’, the latest must-listen single from Chicago’s sensational Sleeps While Walking. Emerging from the homegrown grit of their self-titled debut, the band steps into more lavish territory with this track, but loses none of their pressing emotionality in the process.
Recorded at Echo Mill with Matt Holmes and finished with a sharp mix from Keith Perez, ‘Hollowman’ marks an evolution. This isn’t just a tighter production- it’s also a broader canvas, one that Sleeps While Walking know exactly how to fill. Layers of dreamy synths and gentle piano lines glisten like fog on asphalt, while sharp, barbed guitars and a rhythm section with real bite anchor the track in something heavier, more grounded. That push-pull-serenity clashing with weight is where the band finds its sweet spot.
Vocally, there’s a sense of detachment that fits the theme perfectly: the sense of disconnection that hits hardest when you’re surrounded by noise, bodies, and conversation. It’s that crushing invisibility, the ache of being seen through rather than seen. But rather than collapse under that weight, the track glows with a strange kind of defiance. The chorus resiliently soars. It doesn’t beg to be understood, instead, it just needs to be felt.
For a band rooted in a city known for its musical friction, Sleeps While Walking finds a way to make vulnerability hit like a gut punch. ‘Hollowman’ is a statement of recognition. They’re not just sharpening their sound- they’re exploring and peeling it open.