HOLY MOLY – BROTHERS KEEPERS
2013 – Whoopass
Records
The first thing I read about Fort Worth, Texas natives Holy Moly was that they are a ‘cowpunk’ band and although there is a strong punk element it is certainly not overwhelming. That label is much too limiting, certainly on this album, for a band who have a pretty much unique take on ‘country music.’ They are much closer to punk than the mainstream but there are to a lesser degree, some mainstream elements. There is a powerful edginess to every song despite the fact that a cursory listen reveals a ‘country album,’ but there is far more going on and much greater depth to this recording than you are likely to find in the charts. In many ways labelling them as ‘cowpunks’ is a lazy definition, although I understand, and will shortly be checking for myself, that their previous albums were more firmly based in the ‘cowpunk’ sub genre! With repeated listening sessions the punk sensibility is obvious, but it is probably more accurate to say they are a very close offshoot of ‘real country music’ in a field where there is nothing to really compare them to. There is a strong individuality, almost a uniqueness, to everything they do and there are elements of 1950s ‘country and western’ and also the ‘take us as we are or not at all’ attitude so prevalent in the old ‘hillbilly’ days. I can imagine they would be welcomed with open arms in any honky tonk and just as readily accepted in a ‘holler’ of many decades ago with their untutored appealling ramshackle edge. Don’t get me wrong, they are not a ramshackle band in the obvious sense of the word. It is more their attitude than any lack of skill. To play this music with so much individuality requires a huge amount of musical talent and no doubt a huge number of gigs to hone their natural style and abilities. In many ways they are probably comparable to a band such as Petunia and the Vipers for their uniqueness, not so much in sound, but for the fact that many will say they are at the outer reaches of country although my feeling is that they are pursuing, certainly on this album, a purer strand of that genre. The fact that some of their music on this tremendous recording edges away from that strand only goes to show they are prepared to take chances and, like Petunia, those chances pay off beautifully.
When they started out, five albums ago, they were a duo but then they filled out their sound as a foursome and now it can be argued that they are a fully formed unit as a quintet! Those five are founder members Joe Bill Rose on lead vocal and guitar, Danny Weaver also on guitar, then Jeremy Hull, award winning upright bass player and backing vocals and Joe Carpenter on drums and percussion came in and finally Ben Roi Herring on pedal steel, keyboards and vocals added much more colour to their sound. Joe Bill Rose and Danny Weaver write all of their songs although the arrangements are very much band efforts. The songs are thematically varied, some often having a ‘rockabilly’ beat and there is a distinct lack of polish despite the tremendous melodicism. Joe Bill Rose’s vocals, that often have a ‘pure country’ quality to them, could easily be accepted by the mainstream, almost like a punked up George Strait but without any of the falsehood this would entail. All five members contribute brilliantly to the sound and the drums and bass add far more to that sound than just laying a solid foundation. It’s as if they decided, and justifiably so, that they are all contributing equally to the whole and because of the tremendous musicianship should all be heard equally.
The songs are all uniformly excellent and as already intimated, cover a variety of themes, with the tempos and textures also being varied, bringing an excellent diversity between tracks but always within the ‘confines’ of the loose boundaries this tremendous band set for themselves. The excellent John Wayne has a rockabilly beat and a spaghetti western feel on a quite personal song that would once have been called ‘country and western,’ the evocative vocal and excellent playing with steel guitar, acoustic guitar and a solid drum and bass foundation make this one of the album highlights on an album of highlights! Cocaine is a composition that has the balance and epic nature of a classic country song wrapped up in a powerfully dramatic, thematically dark tale with excellent playing and vocals and an almost cinematic quality that ensures this unusual song will live long in the memory. Forge On is another mini epic as well as being a tremendous country song about growing up as an abandoned child and the sense of determination to ‘forge on.’ The drums and bass lay a perfect foundation that allows the gorgeous steel guitar to play with the emotions that the lyrics awaken on a song that is almost perfectly constructed from their own ‘country’ template. This is followed by The Ballad of Norman Collins a strange otherworldly song that goes way beyond country music with the intensely dramatic ‘heave ho’ chorus on an excellent seafaring tale that is apparently based on a real life character. The Good Fight has a tremendous hard driving beat on an excellent song that insists you should never give up. The almost metronomic drums and powerful bass ‘thrum’ allied to the gorgeous steel guitar and the usual excellent vocals ensure the quality never slackens on this terrific album. Final mention goes to the final song on the album. This is Lost My Mind, a dark tale of insanity, although the subject seems to have an acceptance of the way he is, with the driving, virtually ‘rockabilly’ beat and excellent drumming being at odds with the theme, although the weeping steel guitar provides a counter point to the beat.
This is ‘warts and all’ country music with a powerful edginess that makes this terrific recording, and consequently the band, virtually unique in this day and age thanks to their ‘slanted’ take on the genre! I really can’t wait to hear their previous recordings and whilst they are likely to have more of a cowpunk edge, I’m sure they will be of a high quality but can’t imagine they will surpass this great, five star album!
http://www.holymolytexas.com/
The first thing I read about Fort Worth, Texas natives Holy Moly was that they are a ‘cowpunk’ band and although there is a strong punk element it is certainly not overwhelming. That label is much too limiting, certainly on this album, for a band who have a pretty much unique take on ‘country music.’ They are much closer to punk than the mainstream but there are to a lesser degree, some mainstream elements. There is a powerful edginess to every song despite the fact that a cursory listen reveals a ‘country album,’ but there is far more going on and much greater depth to this recording than you are likely to find in the charts. In many ways labelling them as ‘cowpunks’ is a lazy definition, although I understand, and will shortly be checking for myself, that their previous albums were more firmly based in the ‘cowpunk’ sub genre! With repeated listening sessions the punk sensibility is obvious, but it is probably more accurate to say they are a very close offshoot of ‘real country music’ in a field where there is nothing to really compare them to. There is a strong individuality, almost a uniqueness, to everything they do and there are elements of 1950s ‘country and western’ and also the ‘take us as we are or not at all’ attitude so prevalent in the old ‘hillbilly’ days. I can imagine they would be welcomed with open arms in any honky tonk and just as readily accepted in a ‘holler’ of many decades ago with their untutored appealling ramshackle edge. Don’t get me wrong, they are not a ramshackle band in the obvious sense of the word. It is more their attitude than any lack of skill. To play this music with so much individuality requires a huge amount of musical talent and no doubt a huge number of gigs to hone their natural style and abilities. In many ways they are probably comparable to a band such as Petunia and the Vipers for their uniqueness, not so much in sound, but for the fact that many will say they are at the outer reaches of country although my feeling is that they are pursuing, certainly on this album, a purer strand of that genre. The fact that some of their music on this tremendous recording edges away from that strand only goes to show they are prepared to take chances and, like Petunia, those chances pay off beautifully.
When they started out, five albums ago, they were a duo but then they filled out their sound as a foursome and now it can be argued that they are a fully formed unit as a quintet! Those five are founder members Joe Bill Rose on lead vocal and guitar, Danny Weaver also on guitar, then Jeremy Hull, award winning upright bass player and backing vocals and Joe Carpenter on drums and percussion came in and finally Ben Roi Herring on pedal steel, keyboards and vocals added much more colour to their sound. Joe Bill Rose and Danny Weaver write all of their songs although the arrangements are very much band efforts. The songs are thematically varied, some often having a ‘rockabilly’ beat and there is a distinct lack of polish despite the tremendous melodicism. Joe Bill Rose’s vocals, that often have a ‘pure country’ quality to them, could easily be accepted by the mainstream, almost like a punked up George Strait but without any of the falsehood this would entail. All five members contribute brilliantly to the sound and the drums and bass add far more to that sound than just laying a solid foundation. It’s as if they decided, and justifiably so, that they are all contributing equally to the whole and because of the tremendous musicianship should all be heard equally.
The songs are all uniformly excellent and as already intimated, cover a variety of themes, with the tempos and textures also being varied, bringing an excellent diversity between tracks but always within the ‘confines’ of the loose boundaries this tremendous band set for themselves. The excellent John Wayne has a rockabilly beat and a spaghetti western feel on a quite personal song that would once have been called ‘country and western,’ the evocative vocal and excellent playing with steel guitar, acoustic guitar and a solid drum and bass foundation make this one of the album highlights on an album of highlights! Cocaine is a composition that has the balance and epic nature of a classic country song wrapped up in a powerfully dramatic, thematically dark tale with excellent playing and vocals and an almost cinematic quality that ensures this unusual song will live long in the memory. Forge On is another mini epic as well as being a tremendous country song about growing up as an abandoned child and the sense of determination to ‘forge on.’ The drums and bass lay a perfect foundation that allows the gorgeous steel guitar to play with the emotions that the lyrics awaken on a song that is almost perfectly constructed from their own ‘country’ template. This is followed by The Ballad of Norman Collins a strange otherworldly song that goes way beyond country music with the intensely dramatic ‘heave ho’ chorus on an excellent seafaring tale that is apparently based on a real life character. The Good Fight has a tremendous hard driving beat on an excellent song that insists you should never give up. The almost metronomic drums and powerful bass ‘thrum’ allied to the gorgeous steel guitar and the usual excellent vocals ensure the quality never slackens on this terrific album. Final mention goes to the final song on the album. This is Lost My Mind, a dark tale of insanity, although the subject seems to have an acceptance of the way he is, with the driving, virtually ‘rockabilly’ beat and excellent drumming being at odds with the theme, although the weeping steel guitar provides a counter point to the beat.
This is ‘warts and all’ country music with a powerful edginess that makes this terrific recording, and consequently the band, virtually unique in this day and age thanks to their ‘slanted’ take on the genre! I really can’t wait to hear their previous recordings and whilst they are likely to have more of a cowpunk edge, I’m sure they will be of a high quality but can’t imagine they will surpass this great, five star album!
http://www.holymolytexas.com/