Holy Moly & The Crackers - Take A Bite (2019)

Holy Moly & The Crackers make riotous party music for the masses. Take A Bite is a concise, passionate take on folk, blues and indie rock

Led by the euphoric lead single, All I Got Is You, Take A Bite combines pop song craft with stomping, four to the floor backing, demonstrating the Newcastle-based sextet's commerciality and ambition, as well as their ability to tackle personal lyrical fare, deftly led by vocalist Ruth Patterson. Further adorning their naturally expressive take on British folk with sizeable dollops of rock'n'soul, sharp indie-rock, vulnerable balladeering and festival-ready psychedelic trips towards the Middle East, Take A Bite sets its stall confidently in the previously unoccupied space between the Gossip, Arctic Monkeys, the B52s and Gogol Bordello.

Working once again with producer Matt Terry (The Prodigy/The Enemy), the band - completed by Conrad Bird on vocals/guitar/trumpet, Rosie Bristow on accordion, Nick Tyler on electric guitar, Jamie Shields on bass and Tommy Evans on drums/backing vocals - created 'Take A Bite' at VADA Studios in Warwickshire, where the band recorded their 2017 album Salem and their breakthrough track Cold Comfort Lane (which a year later featured in the end credits of 2018 summer blockbuster movie, Oceans 8).

This time around the recording process was marked by a shift in production technique from Matt Terry, where, rather than recording all the drum then all the bass tracks, songs were recorded one at a time and the band completely lived it. The band even went one step further during the recording of the Byrds-influenced, folk-rock Can't Get Enough, with producer Matt creating an immersive 60s experience in the studio, where everyone dressed up in 60s clothes, bandanas, suits, flares - which, again, meant everybody lived it.

And while the violin and the accordion remain, the whole thing feels rawer now. Riff-heavy, even. With melodic choruses more in the vein of American rockers such as The Black Keys and Jack White, than the tweed and waistcoats of traditional UK folk. Take A Bite reflects the diverse tastes of a band, comprised of six friends with six individual music tastes, who come together to make a sound greater than the sum of its parts.

For fans of: The Gossip, Gogol Bordello, Jack White, Mattiel, Eliza Carthy & the Wayward Band, Skinny Lister, The Zutons.

Tracklist:
01. Holy Moly & The Crackers - All I Got Is You
02. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Upside Down
03. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Can't Get Enough
04. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Kiss Me Before You Go
05. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Sister
06. Holy Moly & The Crackers - I'd Give It All
07. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Take A Bite
08. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Through With Talking
09. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Who Do You Think You Are?
10. Holy Moly & The Crackers - Naked In Budapest
11. Holy Moly & The Crackers - This Little Light