REVIEW: hallpass with Superstar and Recess Party: Live at Aisle 5 - ATL
- Magali Rivera
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Athens superstars celebrate a victory lap with two of Georgia's favorite groups
Athens, Georgia is a breeding ground for indie and alternative bands, with its bustling venues and nightlife as well as its creative, college-aged clientele. hallpass (stylized as such) formed in late 2022, played their first show that November, and began putting out recorded music the following year. Their debut single “Maine” was released in April 2023, a jangly, building track that gets the crowd screaming its catchy lyrics at each and every show. The band garnered quite the following on TikTok after this, using social marketing to their full advantage in finding new fans. On May 22, hallpass played an album release show at Atlanta’s Aisle 5 in support of their debut album Spillway. The indie rockers packed the place out and delivered a set filled with hooky guitars and an infectious energy as fans jumped and sang all night long.
hallpass consists of lead singer and guitarist Josh Morris, drummer Gideon Johnston, guitarist Daniel Crowe, and bassist Sam Smith. With two EPs and a number of singles under their belts, they took to creating Spillway, which was released this past April, three years after their first work was put out. The album is beautifully intentional and a lot more playful and searching than their previous releases. You can hear so much in how they’ve grown their playing abilities and continued to mold their recognizable sound. Before they had enough original music to play full sets with, they would cover hits from the likes of The Backseat Lovers, Flipturn, and Catfish and The Bottlemen. These influences can be heard on this record, and the conjunction of all of them leaves the band, and listeners of course, with a raw, deliberate debut to be more than pleased with.
Last Friday, hallpass hit the stage to a roaring crowd eager to hear the band’s new dealings. They began with Spillway opener “Quarter,” the perfect track to hype fans up from the very start. It was filled with the fuzziest guitars and stacked harmonies from Morris and Smith. They moved right into other album favorites like “Habits” and “Useful.” The group made it a point to oscillate between soft/hard and new/old tracks to maintain energy and flow, though, of course, the setlist consisted mostly of their new debut LP.
Further into the night, hallpass played older tracks from their first EP, Sabeline, including “Roma” and “Violet.” In comparing how these sounded to past performances, the band has become so much tighter, finding their sweet spot between Morris serenading the crowd with his cleanest vocals yet, and rocking out with shreddy guitar from Crowe, Smith’s thumping bass, and a rich intensity from Johnston on drums.
The performance flourished at its end during “Stressor,” as well as their anthemic hit that closed out the encore “Maine.” “Who We Are” was another favorite, as it has been around from its release in 2023 to being included as the closing track on Spillway. One can only imagine that it has carried them through all this time and all these performances because it so wholly sums up their signature sound and the spirit they wished to convey on this record. The crowd was thrilled to spring up and down while shouting out each word of these songs back to the band members, fueling their delight.
The past three years have been a whirlwind for Athens’ very own hallpass. From opening for Flipturn and Quarters (formerly of Change) to creating countless, flawless tracks, they largely expanded their audience and sharpened their sound. Their debut record Spillway is a snapshot of all they have learned in making music, and it more than accomplishes their goal of creating loud and vibrant songs to play for indie rock fans, just as they did for this album release show. Openers Recess Party and Superstar amped fans up, and hallpass definitely brought the house down at Atlanta’s Aisle 5.
Article and photos by Magali Rivera. Please credit @magliriver or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
