Album Notes

"I'm so sick to death of all the shiny shirts," Holy Smokes bassist Luke Metz proclaims three songs into the new Rankoutsider Records album Never Give It Up, and the 10 words nutshell the Vegas quartet's overall musical aesthetic. These harmonica-powered tracks wouldn't be caught dead in some glitzy casino nightclub, they're built for dark, dank spaces, where garage-punk, roots-rock, rockabilly and surf sounds can bang heads and shake walls. The Smokes should appeal to fans of both The Replacements and Exile-era Stones, though as with most bar bands they're sure to pack loads more power live.

-Spencer Patterson
Las Vegas Weekly


Jeff Koenig's harmonica barks like the nieghbors's dog, angry and nonstop. It not only powers the band's hard-boiled whiskey rock like a 454 big block, but it also supplies lots of subtle shading and many of the melody lines on the Smoke's latest, which sounds like a 50's sock hop rock driven through the gutter and crashed into the nearest bar.
"I've been livin' in sin, but I'll never give it up," Koenig howls with dust in his throat on an album that's all about hanging tough, no matter what. Big walking bass lines, pounded piano and hip-shakin' guitar go down smooth then explode in the gut, just like the hooch that fuels these dudes.

-Jason Bracelin
Las Vegas Review-Journal