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Available on CD and LP Charted #65 on CMJ |
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The Bloody Hollies won their 2nd SAN DIEGO MUSIC AWARD for"Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love" which was named best alternative album for 2007. Last year the band won best "rock album" for "If Footmen Tire You…" |
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Singer Wesley Doyle’s squeezed-testicle wail bears more than a passing resemblance to Mr. White’s, with the occasional nod to blues offering little to his defence, but the fuzz is turned up, tempos are dashing to the finish line and Doyle’s sense of rock ‘n’ roll urgency and abandon prove the comparisons to be only skin deep. If you are sick of garage bands simply sleepwalking through the ’60s songbooks, then the Bloody Hollies could be your new favourite band. – Montreal Mirror The Bloody Hollies are a bass-less, blues-drenched riff monster fronted by a powerfully hoarse singer-guitarist, and they will turn your ears and limbs to jelly if you let them, which you should. Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love is their third album, it’s full of energy and drama, and it’s the best excuse to test the limits of your stereo that I’ve heard all year. Musically, it’s an earthquake like you just don’t experience that often these days, a full-throttle blast of garage blues a la Zeppelin, with hooks in all the right places. Wesley Doyle is a fantastic singer precisely because he screams himself into a frenzy and wreaks such havoc on his vocal cords. In other words, he invests his lyrics-delivered at a speed that makes the journey to the center of your mind an awfully quick one-with feeling, which seems not a bit overdone despite the high energy involved. Where many singers either eschew emotion altogether or pump the most mindlessly generic lyrics full of somebody-help-me supplications, Doyle howls his way through the classic blues tropes of women, Jesus and lots of rain, avoiding the literal hellhounds but pulling off the atmosphere quite effectively. Certainly as musicians the Bloody Hollies are an excellent force, the thunder to Doyle’s lightning. When they let up it’s almost hard to tell, because subtlety is not their forte-Joey Horgen and Matthew Bennett attack their instruments with precision and volume, all the time. The music is suitably doom-laden for their take on Shirley Jackson’s short-fiction creep-show "The Lottery" ("Black Box Blues"), and the power chords of "Let’s Do It" make that five-minute come-on impossible to resist, even if Doyle’s own confusion lingers like daddy’s echoing footsteps. Plus their Attica song beats John Lennon’s any day of the week. Standout tracks are useless to name, as the whole thing will rock the floorboards of your front porch till your feet bleed from all the splinters. – Tom Useted / Pop Matters (rating : 7 out of 10) The Bloody Hollies are a ruthless, aggressive rock ‘n’ roll outfit who inspire a return to rock music’s more reckless days. Fresh, snotty and raw, the Bloody Hollies shoot straight for the dead black heart of modern radio rock and devour it with glutonous satisfaction. Their sound is nostalgic, but unique, and their energy channels the unpredicable thrill of the early Who, a less political MC5, a less dangerous Stooges, and not so glam New York Dolls, and, of course, a not-so-timid White Stripes. Blues and punk, at their roots, have much in common. The Bloody Hollies understand that and blend them in the best ways. – Ryan A. Bunch / Toledo City Paper |
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With a heavy shot of blues thrown into their garage rock mix, the Bloody Hollies have delivered their most solid disc to date. Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love features the San Diego groups’ tunefully electric songwriting in peak form on tracks such as "Rain" and "Satanic Satellite." Throughout the record, the band add a number of variations on its Stooges meets Blues Explosion stomp. The group also convey some literary sensibilities on the slow boogie of "Black Box Blues," whose lyrics centre on Shirley Jackson’s classic short story The Lottery. With each of their releases, the Bloody Hollies have shown an ability to make steady progress and offer increasingly more explosive discs. – Rob Nay / Exclaim On their last album, San Diego’s Bloody Hollies sounded like The White Stripes going 90 mph in a residential area. Here, Wes Doyle sounds less like Jack White and more like an animal screaming lovely death screams under a hailstorm of third-degree blues-guitar burns. And that’s a good thing. – Troy Johnson / San Diego City Beat |
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The Bloody Hollies were a Buffalo band with a great name and an armful of shrieking, two-minute grease-punk diatribes on 2003′s Fire at Will, the album that first raised the hackles of trash-rock freaks nationwide. Three-plus years and two albums later, main man Wesley Doyle has relocated to San Diego, recruited a new rhythm section and mixed new shades of abrasive sleaze into the band’s palette. Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love, the second disc since the big move, can get ’70s heavy ("Satanic Satellite"), punk lysergic ("Mona"), pseudo-swampy ("Sad and Lonely," with Doyle’s harmonica honking away) or pogo-pissed ("The Rain"). But while the warmer California weather clearly agrees with Doyle, his scabrous vocal yowl remains as bracing as a January wind off of Lake Erie. – Jason Toon / River Front Times Bloody well right! So Bloody Hollies guitarist-vocalist Wes Doyle recently granted an interview to a Southern California paper, during which he was asked some questions about Buffalo, the city where the Bloody Hollies formed and centered their operations for many years. The words "bleak" and "terrible" were uttered, as reported in The News in early February. On the surface, at least, it sounded like Doyle was bidding a bitter "good riddance" to Buffalo, a city that never fully embraced his band, despite its widespread reputation as one of the finer garage-punk outfits in the country. Thing is, Buffalo never really fully embraces any band, unless it’s already successful or plays music made successful by other bands. That’s a hard, cold fact learned by many an independent artist around these parts. Many of them do well, amassing a decent-sized following. But more often than not, that following fails to grow. The loyal independent, original music audience in Buffalo is a small one. For musicians playing their own music in the small number of clubs that actually hire non-cover bands, often for not a whole heck of a lot of money, Buffalo can feel pretty cold, at least professionally speaking. That’s not just Wes Doyle’s opinion. It’s reality. Doyle posted a note under the heading "Sorry Buffalo," on the band’s Web site, wwww.bloodyhollies.com, the day after the citing ran in The News. In it, he offered the context for his remarks that he said was missing from the initial piece in the Southern California paper. According to the note, Doyle was lamenting the lack of substantive economic change in the area, and bemoaning a tough music scene that seems to only be getting tougher. |
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I’m not going to dredge up any comparisons for the Bloody Hollies. The trio’s hybrid of punk rock and hard blues really, really works. High-energy rock with good songs is pretty rare these days. With stratospheric vocals, take-no-prisoners guitar work and a rhythm section that won’t quit, this crunchingly-produced CD is one of the best hard rock albums I’ve heard in a while. Also they have an awesome name. Bloody Hollies – get it? Works on so many levels. Bloody… Effin’… Hollies. Kick-ass. You can hear some full tracks at their Myspace page. Then buy the CD and listen to it loud in your car. Don’t have a car? Rent one and then listen to the Bloody Hollies loud in it. The Power of Rock commands you. – Jon Sobel / Blogcritics Rock isn’t a fucking history lesson. The Bloody Hollies do it because they love the blues and they love the rock. They are not trying to show you that they love the blues, or that they love the rock. They are playing the rock with the blues parts pushed into the foreground, naked in the spotlight, because that is one of their favorite actors. – Beer Powered Bicycle |
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Don’t let the accordion intro on "Mona" fool you. The Bloody Hollies kick into full rock mode pretty quickly and don’t’ let up until the curtain call "Let’s Do It". The hopelessness on Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love isn’t necessarily surprising. In the first two songs alone Wesley Doyle pleads that "You better pick up gun" and "Sometimes you get what you are asking for, and everybody always gets what they deserve". Regardless of the lyrical tone the album is truly about the guitars. "Satanic Sattellite" has a riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fu Manchu album. "Black Box Blues" also has some vaguely Zeppelin-esque guitars. The Bloody Hollies shed the cool intensity of their Buffalo roots and establish themselves as a Southern California rock band minus the cheese. Don’t be fooled it is still Punk, Blues, Rock and Roll. – Another Sunny Day In Pop Sensibly, the Hollies bring their own unique selling point to the party, adding a tiny tinge of rockabilly B-movie horror, and a slightly camp theatrical vocal style that harks back to the hot-rod glory days of old. The sound is curiously large and spacious for a three piece, and you find yourself wondering how so little seems to add up to so much which is usually a mark of crafty musicianship and song-writing, at least in my book. ‘Who to Trust…’ is a whiskey-and-cigarettes album, its energy amplified by the simplicity of the material, allowing the performance and commitment to shine through. – John Clarkson / Pennyblackmusic (UK) |
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"Blues run the game," sang the sage Jackson C. Frank back in those miserable ’60s. Little did he know that his words would still be alive and well in Twenty-ought-seven. But the Bloody Hollies aren’t moping about past regrets and marrying the bottle, oh no they find pleasure in their blues. For their third album, Sin Diego’s finest fished some giant riffs from the Delta and fried them up with the spirit of the Motor City. Quivering vocals, greasy riffs it makes the Von Bondies sound more like Lawrence Ferlinghetti than Arthur Fonzarelli (note to self: nice one). And while the Hollies, sorry, the Bloody Hollies aren’t exactly breaking new ground here, WTT WTK WTL is gassed-up, nononsense, up the bracket, balls out, deal or no deal, fight to the finish, ready to rumble rock and roll. Ain’t no cry babies here, boy. – Adam Simpkins / The Nerve magazine
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Raw, three-chord rock ‘n’ roll combining metal, glam and punk, San Diego’s The Bloody Hollies’ sound is equal parts T-Rex and Guns N’ Roses on their new album. The third outing from the Buffalo, N.Y., transplants is full of the kind of youthful buzz that has always marked the best rock. A high-energy mix of twin guitars and drums behind Wesley Doyle’s snarling yet urgent vocals, the music on "Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love" is a beguiling blend of attitude and musicianship. If the lyrics can be a bit silly at times in their eager pursuit of nastiness ("Cuz I was born for evil/Evil’s all I’ve done"), the band’s assertive, confident playing provides the sort of backdrop that makes them work (see the Guns N’ Roses reference above). Too, the songs themselves are catchy enough that the lyrics don’t need to be Dylanesque in order to hold your attention. It’s that part that makes the music of the Bloody Hollies stand out: There is no shortage of rock-star wannabes who have the hair, dress and mannerisms down pat; there are very few, though, who provide the combination of good songs, talent and confidence these guys do. – Jim Trageser.com I have been looking forward to this disc for awhile after becoming hooked on ‘If Footmen Tire You’. The Bloody Hollies live up to every ounce of their self-promotion on their third effort. The San Diego three-piece take a tremendous step forward on their latest effort, a garage-blues-punk clusterfuck that’s energetic and full of crunching riffs and pounding drums. – HearYa
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The third outing from the Buffalo, N.Y., transplants is full of the kind of youthful buzz that has always marked the best rock. A high-energy mix of twin guitars and drums behind Wesley Doyle’s snarling yet urgent vocals, the music on "Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love" is a beguiling blend of attitude and musicianship (…) There is no shortage of rock-star wannabes who have the hair, dress and mannerisms down pat; there are very few, though, who provide the combination of good songs, talent and confidence these guys do. – Jim Trageser / NC Times Whether you call it garage punk, blues or just flat-out rock ‘n’ roll, the Bloody Hollies make a racket as piercing as the engine of a Harley. On its refreshingly low-fi third album, the killer quartet delivers scorching slide and rhythm guitar, pounding drums and from-the-heart vocals with a conviction bigger names in this primal post-Motorhead genre can’t hold a Zippo to. – Fred Shuster / LA Daily News The San Diego-based band originally from Buffalo, N.Y., sounds like it’s plowing through an astounding live set on "Who to Trust," which is partly reflective of the naturalistic production. Yet the gutsy sound is mostly attributable to remarkable frontman Wesley Doyle. As the Bloody Hollies vocalist, he blends punk and rock influences and adds a quivering tremolo to amp up the drama. As the group’s lead guitarist, Doyle fuses blues and metal into an explosive output, which he occasionally fuels with smoking harmonica. "I can feel it in my shirt, in my socks, in my shoes/Baby don’t you feel it too?/I can feel it! Feel it!" Doyle belts on "C’est la Vie, Ma Cherie," a swampy brew of aural hot flashes and cold chills. And if "baby" doesn’t feel it, she must be dead. – Knoxnews Bottom line with The Bloody Hollies is that they’re a driven, lyrically-inspired gang of fellow blues/punk/rock lovers who’ve somehow managed to combine their most deeply ingrained influences (Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Kimbrough, long-forgotten Deep Southern troubadours with names like Limpin’ Larry Jones and One-Eye Jackson) with the obvious (pre-major label Stooges, The Count Five, varying punk influences ranging from The Minutemen to Dead Boys to 999) and their own genuine love for amps that go past "11" to create a sound that’s both in-the-moment and comfortingly familiar at the same time. Recommended track: "Satanic Satellite." Check ‘em out at bloodyhollies.com and be prepared for a righteous, soulful punch in the rock ‘n’ roll belly. – Pulse of The Twin Cities Same band, completely different approach. Well, not completely different, everything still kicks like a mule. (…) It doesn,t matter how you slice it, dice it or mince it up it’s still some of the best rock n’ roll to ever pierce a set of eardrums. Get it! – Richard Oliver / Ear Candy In addition to walls of distorted guitar, there are pinches of organ thrown in that make for a decidedly ’60s vibe. Doyle’s high-pitched vocal assault is rife with grunts and groans, but can also come off disarming during less turbulent moments. – Read the interview with Wesley in PE.com The Bloody Hollies’ "C’est La Vie, Ma Cherie" from their new album Who to Love, Who to Trust, Who To Kill was just played on Indie 103.1 on Jonesy’s Jukebox, hosted by original Sex Pistol himself, Steve Jones. Steve said the band is "very grim" and went on to say that they are "very much a ‘kill-yourself’ sort of a band." I listen to Jonesy a lot and that is high praise from the man. – Dialed In |
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They take on board the 60′s garage psych and use that base to propel themselves aggressively in to the middle of next week. Raw and riffed up to the max, wired as hell, rusty finger cutting edges on those wires, this is good. – Organ (UK) The Bloody Hollies are one of the most rocking bands I’ve heard in some time. Their singer is one of their strongest assets, going from singing that almost sounds British to screaming at a moment’s notice. As he yells on The Rain, "Sometimes you get what you’re asking for! / And everybody always gets what they deserve!" I will change the context to mean that while not everybody is asking to be rocked, they all deserve it. – Either/or The metamorphosis of the Bloody Hollies from simply a really good band to a group of possible historical importance continues. Who To Trust, Who To Kill, Who To Love is far less urgent than last year’s epic scorcher If Footmen Tire Youbut ultimately richer in a lasting sense. Opener ‘Mona’ is a manic / depressive haunt that is practically divided into song chapters, with Wesley Doyle’s creeping vocals hovering just below the mix; it’s a bold attempt at experimentation that pays off huge dividends, a perfect opening track that grabs you by the collar and says ‘hey, shut up and listen to this.’ The remainder of the album is an ideal cohabitation of the Bloody Hollies back catalogue, both old and new – ‘C’est La Vie, Ma Cherie’ is the ‘sorry babe’ lament that rears its head in one form or another on most Hollies’ albums, while both ‘Attica Rocks’ and ‘Sad & Lonely’ both showcase exactly where those increasingly-frequent ACDC comparisons are coming from. Ultimately, however, the album is a testament to the Hollies’ longtime muse – the blues. Their earlier albums may have successfully masked things under the cover of punk and psychobilly, but make no mistake – the Bloody Hollies are a blues band for the next generation. From the death ode "Delta Heart Attack" to the come-hither wanton bait of album closer ‘Let’s Do It’, the Bloody Hollies accomplish the near impossible with Who To Trust, Who To Kill, Who To Love – they successfully bring the blues into the present. – Justin Habersaat / Altercation Magazine The Bloody Hollies are one of the most rocking bands I’ve heard in some time. Their singer is one of their strongest assets, going from singing that almost sounds British to screaming at a moment’s notice. As he yells on The Rain, "Sometimes you get what you’re asking for! / And everybody always gets what they deserve!" I will change the context to mean that while not everybody is asking to be rocked, they all deserve it. – Either/orThe Bloody Hollies don’t stray dangerously far from the fast/loud/hard sound that dominated their first two long-players on album number three, the brilliantly titled Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love, but at the same time this is certainly the group’s most ambitious and accomplished set to date. Along with the garage punk blama-lama that’s their bread and butter, the Bloody Hollies add some dashes of hard rock guitar swagger and glam-styled attitude on these ten tunes, and the moody organ intro to "Mona" kicks off the show with more texture and detail than you might expect from these guys. But don’t let the new layers of depth and occasional subtlety throw you — the Bloody Hollies are still here to rock the house, and they shake it to its foundations on this record, with the slightly more measured tempos of "Black Box Blues" and "C’Est la Vie, Ma Chérie" revealing just how much muscle this trio can summon without breaking the speed limit. Wesley Doyle’s guitar and vocal work continues to impress (along with his songwriting), and drummer Matthew Bennett and bassist Joey Horgen give him all the support he needs on these sessions. Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love takes what was great about the Bloody Hollies’ first two albums, refines the formula, adds some solid new accents, and ends up with a killer album that has brains, muscle, and sweat in equal measure. – Mark Deming / All Music Guide Rather than garage-rock, this disc almost defines sweaty-cavern-rock, with every brick dripping with condensation and reverberating to the attack of a pair of guitars, drums and the occasional dab of bass, harmonica and organ. (…) Despite threatening a wearing listen, Who To Trust, Kill, Love is actually an innervating thrash of raw music, fiery tales and blistering delivery. Mixing the best spirit of punk with a rock musician’s technical ability, the 36 minutes blur past in a furious ménage of soloing guitars, crunching rhythm and fantastic lead vocals. The Bloody Hollies fulfil the promise that bands like Von Bondies ultimately failed to deliver – a disc of genuine invention and excitement. – Adult Contemporary Danish review on the Adressa.no site Exciting, abrasive underground rock, that gets bigger with each play. – Manchester Music (UK) Danish review on the Nordlys.no site Read a review on the FFRUK site With their new disc Who to Trust Who to Kill Who to Love, The Bloody Hollies may actually done the impossible and outdone their last disc If the Footmen Tire You. Satanic Satellite and Delta Heart Attack take their Bluesy Garage sound up notches unknown with great song writing and the most kick ass harmonica you’ll probably hear outside of some dirty New Orleans juke joint. The Bloddy Hollies are at their best on this disc, kudos guys for a job well fucking done! – Sameerah / Ectomag Who To to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love is an album of balls-out, baddass rock and rock roll with a huge, blown-out. killer live room drum sound, dirty guitars and blusey vocals that recall The Strokes swagger. The first song "Mona" has a surprisingly cool surf-guitar breakdown – hey they are a San Diego band so maybe it’s not that surprising – provoking memories of Agent Orange. The second track will convince listeners who haven’t seen them play that The Bloody Hollies are a killer live band. Drummer Matt Bennett’s helps that notion along with lots of cool drum parts, sometimes pretty up-front in the mix, that sound a more sophisticated than a lot of garage rock drums prized as they often are for their primitive quality (…) Recommended for fans of the more bluesy side of garage-rock. – Gordon B. Isnor / Left Hip magazine Emo boy’s head exploded upon hearing The Bloody Hollies for his first virgin experience. Emotions splattered all across the room. It was quite tragic and many an Emo girl wept tears that washed away the stains left on the Emo walls. The Bloody Hollies skulk in dark corners ready to surge and fester like gangrene infested open wounds pulsing and wasting at every flare or flexure. Swabbing alcohol infested unguent causing great alleviation yet burning away the wretchedness. Perhaps predicting a CD is the best of the year when it is not 2007 (date of release) is a bit risky. Hell, I have never been a man of risk but when it comes to quality, growth and double barrel rock and roll then the Bloody Hollies have the spades. Blues from a bloody red gun. Shove the barrel down your throat and taste it. – Christopher Duda / Sugarbuzz Magazine If Rock ‘n’ Roll were doused in gasoline and set aflame with a Zippo lighter, The Bloody Hollies would erupt forth in a fiery rush of amplified madness. This sonically blistering CD is a rhythmic hellfire cauldron of two-fisted, distortion-laden damnation just like the sort that Satan prescribes to worthy lost souls thirsting for another night of sin. The spastic, caterwauling, out-of-control vocals are savagely accompanied by a deafening loud crash of frenzied, screaming instrumentation, and it all ultimately sounds like a cluster-bomb orgy of shattered glass, boozy bravado, voodoo sex rituals, and good old-fashioned chicken-shack stomp. Man alive, The Bloody Hollies are guaranteed to unleash the primal raging beast within us all, one sizzlin’ hot song at a time. – Moser / Under The Volcano The Bloody Hollies newest disc, "Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love" is blistering. I could stop there and that would sum it up for this review but I couldn’t stop without telling you how raw yet refined these guys come across. Guitars that makes your guts twist, vocals that will make your brain tighten, drums and bass that push and pull your toes as the music hits your existence. – Jeff Jackson / Music Filter BIO : In a time when the term "rock n roll" is used as loosely as a prom dress at midnight, The BLOODY HOLLIES are back once again to remind everyone what "rock n roll" is really all about. Their unique sound is truly one that needs to be heard to understand that this isn’t just another throw back 60′s garage yawnfest, or moppy haired riff crazy classic rock rip off. This is original American rock music that’s too smart for the main stream, but too aggressive, licentious and blood thirsty for the emo crowd. No matter what side of the social circle you sit, your primal needs will eventually get the best of you, and you’ll find your self banging on your dashboard to their new album "Who to Trust, Who to Kill, Who to Love". This is the follow up release to "If Footmen Tire You" which was widely received as one of last year’s best (including winning the San Diego Music Award for Rock Album of the Year). This new record is a graduation of sorts for a band that has steadily demonstrated maturity in song writing, and a firm grasp of their influences. This album is the embodiment of the no frills, off the cuff, blues punk rock that The BLOODY HOLLIES are admired for. They do what they do with skill, perfection, and flat out better than anyone else. |
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