Holy Roller Baby – Frenzy (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 48:26 minutes | 574 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © None
With funky, soulful riffs, rampant melodies, hooky songcraft and markedly smooth production, Holy Roller Baby sound like a band with some measure of experience behind them on their upcoming debut album, Frenzy. As well they should since the Texas-based band (Austin and Dallas) features three-fourths of the defunct Heavy Glow. Jared Mullins, Nick Snyder and Patrick Smith from that band join up with drummer Luke Callaway — also in Snyder‘s bluesy solo-ish project, Nick Snyder & The Real Deal, which released a debut EP in March — and while there remains a strong current of Josh Homme-style melody in Mullins‘ voice, Holy Roller Baby feel immediately less restrained by heavy rock convention than the prior outfit. Eschewing psychedelic elements for an earthier feel, a cut like “Blue Devin Inn” finds its way into the ethereal nonetheless, likewise the closer “Mantra,” and the starts and stops of “Id Vicious” and the strut of “Ravings at Your Window” expand on the core desert-hued familiarity one might hear in the opener “Leper Blues/Spread Your Love Around” and a song like “Eve.” It is an encouraging debut, built with a clear intention toward reaching out to an audience beyond the heavy rock underground and offering everyone a glimpse at what they’ve been missing.
Read more