Credit: Kari Rowe"Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)," the lead single from AWOLNATION's sophomore album, Run, is the number one song on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, and is in the top 15 on Mainstream Rock Songs. Run is the followup to AWOLNATION's debut, Megalithic Symphony, which featured the megalithic single "Sail" and propelled the band into the public consciousness.
As frontman Aaron Bruno tells it, the pressure of writing a successful sophomore album possibly sneaked its way into the lyrics of "Hollow Moon."
"For me maybe it was the monster of anticipation of a sophomore followup, maybe that's where I was coming from, or possibly different fears throughout my life that I'm trying to address," Bruno tells ABC Radio of the meaning of "Hollow Moon." In the song's chorus, the narrator "make[s] a deal with the bad wolf so the bad wolf don't bite no more."
In recording Run, Bruno felt like he was under a "magnifying glass" and, for the first time in his career, there was "actual anticipation" over what he was going to do next. He wanted to use that anticipation to try something unique.
"I had this platform to create a record that real music lovers could get into, a record that you could listen to front to end," Bruno says. "More than having any commercial success, I really wanted to make a timeless, classic album that possibly pushed the boundaries of recording and sort of capitalized off the success of the first record, because I knew that people would be listening."
In picking what song would be the first to introduce the next stage of AWOLNATION, Bruno and his camp had difficulty in deciding what should be the lead single -- "Hollow Moon" was not every one's first choice -- but Bruno is very pleased with how "Hollow Moon" has been received.
"That was a challenge for our team to, I suppose, re-educate people on where I'm coming from," Bruno explains. "Now I'm sitting here while a song basically with a hardcore breakdown is being played on the radio for millions to hear, so I'm very proud of that at the very least."
While Bruno says "Hollow Moon" reflects his struggle to create Run, he is reluctant to share any more background on the song's lyrics.
"I could get more into it but I don't ever like to explore too much of where I was coming from because that could damage the interpretation of the listener," Bruno tells ABC Radio. "But it's definitely a 'face your fears' kind of song."
Bruno and AWOLNATION will bring their hit single to the stage on their North American headlining tour, which begins May 27 in Seattle.
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