Holy Crime are a relatively new band from Auckland, comprising Benny Richards (guitar, vocals), Tom Anderson (bass, vocals). Jacob Stutton (guitar) and Mat Hinton (drums), with Play Toy being their debut single. Sometimes, just sometimes, one hears a song and immediately a smile comes across the face and it stays there right until the end and that is the case with this one with its unabashed influences of The Darkness and Eighties glam rock. Imagine Blackie Lawless playing with Poison with some elements of Faster Pussycat and you may just get the musical nods to the story of young men being taken advantage of by older ladies.
Yes, it’s tongue in cheek, but it is a blast from beginning to end with solid drums, nice walking basslines, solidi rhythm and a perfectly formed guitar solo. There is a swagger within this, confidence and poise, and it is difficult to realise they have not been playing together for years, but the current line-up only started gigging in September. The vocals have a nice rough and raw lived-in feel which provides depth, while the music never pretends to be anything other than what it is, later period glam, and the combination has plenty of hooks making it a load of fun throughout. I am so looking forward to hearing this one live.
8/10 Kev Rowland
