Holy Moly & The Crackers Salem

With their unique fusion of “gypsy folk rock”, Holy Moly & The Crackers hail from the North East of the UK, and have a loyal, devoted and ever-increasing fan base. The band have built themselves an enviable reputation, pulling packed houses for their ferocious, visceral live shows, and now they are heading into heavier, gutsier waters with their new album Salem - produced by Matt Terry (The Enemy), mixed by Gethin Pearson (Mallory Knox) and mastered by Nigel Watson (Scissor Sisters); to be self-released on the band’s Pink Lane Records.
The band has hardly drawn breath over the last two years - furiously touring and developing their live show, yet all the while creating new material, pushing at their sound. Lyrically, Salem is steeped in references to baroque, superstitious practice and the dark arts - tarot, memento mori, witchcraft and hallucination. It is perhaps fitting that the album was recorded in a studio that was once a medieval
chapel above a family tomb. Musically, Salem marks a distinct change in direction to Holy Moly’s
previously recorded material. Less gypsy, more rock. Cold Comfort Lane is reminiscent of The Zutons with a touch of the Arctic Monkeys. Lead singer Ruth Patterson sings “She’s got you in her sights” with a definite Alex Turner-esque, lip-curling snarl. As well as Cold Comfort Lane, the songs Mary, Sugar, Easy As The Sunrise and Let Go are all heading in a “heavier, crunchier direction” (Clash).
Ruth Patterson (violin/singer) brings class and elegance to the compilation. Aforementioned high-octane numbers are framed by a trio of her songs that both lyrically and musically ooze a maturity way beyond Ruth’s 25 years: Yours To Keep, with its Waits-esque New Orleans groove and The Wall, with its
orchestral grandeur reminiscence of Regina Spektor, are both acute metaphorical explorations of paranoia and anxiety. The title track, Salem uses the Salem witch trials of 1692 to comment on current world events: the persecution and marginalisation of minorities and the rise of xenophobia, homophobia, sexism etc. in the mainstream conscience.