SINGLE REVIEW: HOLLYWOOD HILLS- SIR WINSTON
Hollywood Hills begins as a spoken word, tambourine wielding narrative describing being alone in a house- his girl is overdosing and he’s panicking. Screaming electric guitars and synthesised percussion break up the erratic narrative of the character, who’s stressed about being blamed for providing the pills, being on them himself. Sir Winston utilises all available electronics to play on the listener’s emotions and get them to understand the fear of the situation.
As the song progresses, the lyrics begin to scatter and repeat, heightening the fear of the situation and the singer’s desire to escape. Eventually, the singer delves into what could be described as a psychotic episode, using screaming and even more erratic instrumentals to portray that fear.
The terror of getting in trouble by ‘cops knocking on the door’ is emphasised by the hectic mix of electronic instrumentals and confused singing, as you listen through the song you can hear the panic of Sir Winston as he thinks about running from the ‘crime scene’- hinting that he may be on pills himself, he seems unsure of the situation and the uncertainty of his involvement, using his music to instil that uncertainty into the listeners.
The tambourine in the background of the bridge reminds me of another Australian musician, our very own Mr G from Summer Heights High… Which I understand may be a controversial opinion, but as a listener you may understand where I’m coming from.
As a secondary thought, that tambourine also pulls at the memory of American pop duo Lewis Del Mar, and their EP (aptly named ‘EP’) that seemed like it fell out of the 50’s where spoken word and instrumentals were on the rise… the kind of style that Hollywood Hills also seems to feature. It’s that kooky, strange kind of narrative that makes you think of standing in a crowded, dingey basement room, swaying side to side even though you might not be on the beat, although it doesn’t matter because everyone is here and having a good time.
The aggressive music is like a digital punch in the face- a punch and headlock, if you will. Prepared to be slapped in the face with the rapid change in tempo and lyrics, and really let yourself be dragged into the situation with Sir Winston. Do you see yourself standing there, watching him freak out? Yeah, me too.
Hollywood Hills features that eclectic pop similar to the single released in July of 2019, called Everybody Must Dance. The single was used in collaboration with big brands (prepare for name dropping) like Nike, Maybelline and Top Shop, to list a few.
Sir Winston, real name Winston Giles, has been writing and creating music since his teen years, and in the early 2000’s was collaborating with DJ’s and up and coming artists in the newly emerging EMT scene, which is where the influences for Hollywood Hills seem to be coming from.
Giles has been focusing on Playup- Music for Brands and Advertising. The service clears all rights to use the song for any advertising, film or fashion projects so that artists can reap rewards for their hard work. We can definitely expect to see this single and future singles being sampled as part of Playup.