The Pride anthem you didn’t know you needed

Released 30th May, newcomer Ed Gent’s track Whole Lotta Hollow was written for Pride Month. The song is a high-gloss, club-built anthem soaked in early-2000s pop drama, layered with lyrics that speak to the LGBTQ+ experience - especially those moments when belonging feels conditional.

The production is huge - it is Pride at full volume. Synths shimmer, drum beats thump and beneath it all runs a clear sense of purpose and authenticity.

Gent’s lyrics are clever - he writes with both metaphor and precision, shining a light on the dissonance between being welcomed and being understood. “Call it love, we call it proof / It’s a danger zone,” he sings in the opening verse, setting the tone for a song that questions what inclusion or diversity really looks like when the lights come up.

“It’s about that disconnect,” Gent explained. “When people or spaces present themselves as accepting and diverse, but don’t necessarily practise what they preach. I wrote it to address that gap.”

The bridge is the standout moment. It offers a striking shift, both musically - with a breakdown - and lyrically. “Paint the cracks, pretend it’s gold / Say I won’t do what I am told? / Well, the truth gets loud when the silence falls,” Gent sings. It’s poetic yet plainspoken and delivered with the calm confidence of someone who has spent time sitting in that silence.

References to “golden badges”, “paper thrones” and “shattered halls” hint at a kind of performative acceptance - the kind that leaves its mark when support falls short.

“Pride, for me, has always been about honesty and about being real with yourself and the world around you, and there's still room to grow when it comes to making sure everyone in the LGBTQ+ community feels included and valued," Gent says.

His sound draws heavily on queer pop’s past and present: echoes of ‘80s club euphoria ripple through the production and shades of Gaga’s theatricality and Troye Sivan’s disco melancholy give it a distinctly contemporary edge. The result is a song both nostalgic and current, with a message that feels historic yet still very much relevant.

“Songwriting is the one place I try to be as open as possible,” Gent shares. “And if a line makes someone feel seen or less alone, that’s the best outcome I could ask for.”

At just 22, Gent splits his time between Eastbourne and London, having recently returned from Cardiff where he studied and wrote much of his early work. Whole Lotta Hollow is a step up in both scale and scope - bigger production, clearer vision and a sharper voice.

There’s no label here and no campaign machinery, just a new artist with something clear to say and a sound that delivers it with impact. The result is a Pride track that brings colour, craft and conviction, all without compromise.

Whole Lotta Hollow is out 30th May, available on all major platforms.