Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Well, I think I have a new favourite band, yeah, say hi to the flashiest new kids in the block, they are called Holy Hail and they sound like Glass Candy getting down and dirty with a fractured bass heavy breakneck paced hillbilly disco thang, fuck angular guitar, lets square dance with Beth & Brace & Hannah, throw some neon 80s disco shake-it-beat-it-hop-it L'Trimm shapes for added excitement, so many ace noises it's like being 8 again. - 20jazzfunkgreats
Like the dirty south of The Gossip mixed with some B-52s madness or maybe even something like the Scissor Sisters mixed with Rilo Kiley. Like if Rilo Kiley wasnt dripping in Omaha infused country and the Scissor Sisters werent totally overproduced Top Of The Pops nonsense. New wave vs. house music for the thinkers. - BigStereo
Halloween 2005 show w/Gossip & New England Roses:
http://www.cmj.com/relay/?p=70 - Staff Blog
Gospel-hop-electro-country...punctutated with the odd piercing scream. THANKS HOLY HAIL - WE SALUTE YOU! For the fantastic show last night! - trashclub.co.uk
I'd never heard of opener Holy Hail, but I loved them as much as LIA. They had a bunch of rapid lyrics, a killer bass player, and a fun NY dance sound. - Professor Dollar Fifty
Exclusive! Cat (ex- the band Fannypack) heads the decks this week at Beauty Bar. At midnight, she will play three tracks from the debut album of her new band Holy Hail. Thrown in the mix, expect hip-hop, booty shake, pop and a dose of drunken foxes. - New York Press
Long running but still so where it's at, Erol Alkan's night of angular guitars, power punches of pop, shouty punk, electro and more, with the Lovely Jonjo in the main. Next door, Rory Phillips does his underground, up-and-coming alternative bands kind of thing with new wave disco quartet The Holy Hail live. DC: trash it up: it's D-I-Y fashion a-go-go here. - Time Out (London)
Rounding out the night were Holy Hail whose singer Cat did time in the femme rap troupe Fannypack before forming a new group with some friends and associates. While you could hear a few traces of F-pack's irreverent "say it enough times and it's a hook" enthusiasm in their music, Holy Hail conjured up that "1980 mini-skirts in the parking lot of the Starwood vibe" and did an even better job at being short, fun and bouncy . If that's too esoteric, I'll say that they did a damn good job of re-interpreting So-Cal new wave and making it their own. Their lyrics prolly have too many double entendres to make them a solid pick for your 'lil sista's Bat Mitzvah, but as a grown and sexy party starting band, they've got the snap and pizazz down pat. - The Simple Mission
Discography
September 11, 2006 - "County Fair (Part Two)" digital single (Playlouder Recordings)
2006 - Pointed Rifles to the Sky
European and US Club Play:
"County Fair. Pt. 2"/"Born of a Star" (Unreleased/White Label)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
"Hold my head in the holy water, bathe my sins in the sea of slaughter" - Holy Hail
SAINTS AND SINNERS:
The twinned co-ed vocals of Cat Hartwell and Kevin Cooke become the singular voice of Holy Hail. Fast paced and razor sharp, politically-charged lyrics fly over Matt Cuttler's crisp drumming and Michally’s curvy basslines, creating a smart, sexy dance party explosion.
An amalgamation of style, finesse & attitude, this foursome adds combustible energy and charm to its live show, demanding and commanding your full attention.
The Brooklyn/NYC (boys take Brooklyn, girls take Manhattan) band recorded their first album, Pointed Rifles to the Sky, in March 2006 at Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room with Nicolas Verhnes (Fischerspooner, Fiery Furnaces, Les Savy Fav, Black Dice) at the console. The nine songs, from the Euro-DJ favorite “County Fair (Part Two),” to the backwoods speed-folk of “Dig My Grave with the Songs I've Sung," to the dark pounding groove of “Sweet Damnation”, to the twitchy, yelping, end-of-album thumper, “Big Guns,” Holy Hail reflects a wide range of influences: The Fall, New Order, X, The B-52’s, Talking Heads & Tom Tom Club, The Gossip, The Band, and Fleetwood Mac.
This isn't about dance-punk. Holy Hail is sound hurled forcefully. It’s a blast of westward expansion, northern lights, easterly winds, Southern soul, spirituals, and booze. Put your faith in the new gospels. Your bible has been sprinkled with adderall and set on fire. Turn out the lights, turn the volume up, and ask yourself:
When's the last time you had a religious experience?
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