Stage4Beverley: Holy Moly & The Crackers

HOLY MOLY & THE CRACKERS

Holy Moly & The Crackers are the innovative and fiery folk-rockers from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the North-East UK, who bombastically mash together unique flavours of americana, rock and indie with a circus-punk edge, and have become renowned for their blazing live shows.

Building a loyal and enthusiastic fan base over the years, Holy Moly & The Crackers first tasted success with the release of their second album Salem (released 2017) on their own Pink Lane Records, when lead single ‘Cold Comfort Lane’ was picked up by Hollywood and used in the vibrant, stick-it-to-the-man blockbuster Oceans 8 in 2018.

Working again with Salem producer Matt Terry (Mogwai, The Enemy, Snuff), they recorded and released their follow up album Take a Bite in 2019, described as a “swaggering album that showcases a riotous blend of styles” by Louder Than War.

Once again, the band hit the road in full throttle, joining ‘shanty punks’ Skinny Lister on tour around Europe, before appearing at over 30 festivals, and finally undertaking a victorious headline lap of the UK, culminating in selling out their biggest show to date at Sage Gateshead on the banks of the Tyne.

2020 saw Holy Moly & The Crackers blast out of the blocks. They were set to play 27 dates across 10 countries on their biggest European tour to date, as well as support Frank Turner across France and Germany, then return to Glastonbury for the festival’s 50th anniversary. But, well, you know what happened next 😷

This band’s answer to the challenge of a world flipped on its head is Solid Gold. Mixed by six times Grammy award-winning engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton), it is the group’s fourth studio album and is scheduled for release in 2023.

Equally their mellowest, deepest, most playful and heaviest album, Solid Gold inverts any expectation of what could or indeed should come from such a wild live group. Leaning into Americana influences, as well as indie-folk, the sleek beats and production of Danger Mouse and the pounding riff-o-rama of Jack White at his most crazed, Solid Gold could only be made in 2022 but feels like it could have been exhumed any time from 1970.

But this is no pastiche. No other band could twist their own DNA in such a way whilst still standing so tall, still inviting the chaos, the glory and catharsis of a sing-a-long folk-rock gathering.