Known for the gravelly vocal tone and immense guitar playing that gifted him a rapid ascent in the British blues-rock world, it is no surprise that Kris Barrass’ music has evolved year-on-year. From humble beginnings in Torquay, Devon, to trading licks with the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Billy Gibbons on the world stage, Kris has already lived a hundred lives that defy his youth and exuberance. His own project Kris Barras Band had a mammoth 2024. From selling out headline shows in British castles, headlining Planet Rockstock, and a Top #5 UK album with Halo Effect, the KBB hit it off with acclaimed US hard rock songwriters and signed to Earache Records which set off a creative chain reaction that led to a darker, heavier, and more energetic sound. However, whilst the KBB is firmly intrenched in the world of heavy music, Kris is still a bluesman at heart – so in between albums with KBB, his latest project Hollow Souls has just happened to hit with something different.
Kris, Phoebe, Josiah
Hollow Souls is a dream project for Kris. Together with long-term collaborator, multi-instrumentalist and producer Josiah J Manning, using Josiah’s Plymouth-based Momentum Studios as their base, a studio band consisting of drummer Joe Harris (Toby Lee / Lack of Afro) and bass player Leighton Allen (Callum Scott / The Hoosiers) became more than the sum of its parts. When Kris invited in former KBB backing singer Phoebe Jane to jam, the floodgates of creativity truly opened. In writing for her dexterous range and astonishing power, Kris and Josiah knew they had found a singer with which their musical palette could continue to evolve; the spark that ignited a whole new band into existence with Hollow Souls – and after releasing four singles, Hollow Souls is their debut EP.
Like a one-two punch, Hollow Souls have also come out the gates by announcing a twenty-date UK tour – a real statement of intent that demonstrates a clean sweep of the UK blues-rock circuit, where Kris champions some of the venues that allowed him to cut his teeth as an emerging talent. A review of one of these nights will shortly be forthcoming!
There are six tracks on this EP, several of which feature friends and respected musos. Kicking off almost literally with the debut single Borderline, this one features Jared James Nichols, US blues-rock rising star, on lead guitar remotely from across the pond. Kris had really admired Jared’s playing for some time, so he gave him creative license to play whatever he wanted on this beast of a track. Recorded in one take at Momentum Studios (showcased in the video below), and produced and mixed by Josiah J Manning, the success – and sheer fun! -of this track set the tone that new music with further studio collaborators and perhaps even touring could well be in store.
For the next track, having already sketched the basic outline of the song, Kris and Josiah thought the perfect deliverer would be another American, the Cold Stares front man Chris Tapp. After both becoming leading lights in a new wave of blues-rock signed to Mascot Records’ Provogue imprint, and subsequently meeting on the Joe Bonamassa “Keeping The Blues Alive at Sea” cruise, Barras and Tapp started a friendship born of a mutual admiration over the past few years. Known for their fresh take on blues and southern rock styles, Tapp’s songwriting for The Cold Stares has seen them soundtrack famous video games and TV commercials. Again recorded remotely from his home in Evansville, Indiana, the result is a devilishly upbeat and subtly swampy earworm that interplays Tapp’s effortlessly cool verses with Hollow Souls’ lead vocalist Phoebe Jane’s punchy choruses.
Third track I Need The Fire is the core band, a down-and-dirty fuzz rifferama with Phoebe soaring above it all. This one rattles along at pace, simple enough but thoroughly infectious! A scorcher of a solo from KB in the mid section gives further proof of the skills this guy has in Keeping The Blues Alive. Short and oh so sweet. Next is another collaborative effort, this time featuring the unmistakable vocals of chart topping, multi-award winning, Bristolian-Americana heroine Elles Bailey. Kris and Elles have maintained a close working relationship over the years, with Kris directing several of Elles’ music videos and the pair often comparing notes during their ascent through the gauntlet that is the music industry. On this track the chemistry between the two is evident, as they finally got together on something they wrote together, away from any industry pressures, during Elles’ several trips to Devon. It’s a banger!
Shotgun is another collaborative effort, this time featuring the unmistakeable vocals of Jon ‘Marv’ Harvey, of the Canadian powerhouse southern rock band, Monster Truck. This was the second single released by the band, to critical applause both sides of the pond. It sees Phoebe providing soulful backing vocals to Jon, another remote connection after a long-term friendship based on mutual musical respect. Marv’s vocal explosiveness and trademark story-telling come to the fore over a stompin’ blues-rock riff, while KB delivers a fiery solo that demonstrates his inimitable style of hard rock shredding with bluesy phrasing.
This brief selection is brought to a close with Chasing Ghosts, again the core band at play. This one actually has KB himself singing, its a slower, less incendiary blues-ballad, with notes of piano introduced. It’s actually the longest track of the six, a more introspective, thoughtful number which nonetheless revs up wonderfully into a lovely chorale production, topped with a simply gorgeous solo from the man, underlining his fretwork credentials for all to see. Probably my favourite track here.
You owe it to yourselves to get to see this collective on their imminent tour – you won’t be disappointed!
