cover art design by Tom Martin; image courtesy of Knyvet

Single Review of Sunday Junkie: “Holy, Holy”

Worcester’s Sunday Junkie is duo Tom Martin (vocals, guitars, bass, synth, lyrics) and Shawn Pelkey (drums, additional percussion). “Holy, Holy” was released in February in advance of the May release of Sunday Junkie’s self-titled debut album. It was the duo’s third single, following “Vultures” and “Haunted Head,” but it was my first introduction to Sunday Junkie.

“Holy, Holy” opens with echoey drum beats, instantly reminiscent of a specific brand of ’90s-era, synth-driven, not-particularly-mainstream alt-pop, the kind you might hear at subterranean nightclubs, though the more engaging songs of that style could break into broader danceclub playlists from time to time and, if the elements hit just right, into the broader music consciousness.

photo courtesy of Sunday Junkie via Knyvet

Following the echoey opening of “Holy Holy,” more ethereal sounds follow, providing an almost unearthly backdrop perfectly suited – perhaps blasphemously so – to a song entitled “Holy, Holy.” You can hear the anguish in the Martin’s vocals. As the song progresses, the music mix broadens, and particularly following a mid-song section that repeats the initial verses, the song amps up its energy. Much of the middle and end of the song are firmly in more mainstream alt-rock territory, potentially helping the track reach a broad audience. Yeah, the mix may be a little noisier than typical mainstream listeners are accustomed to during the song’s final minute, but not so much that an invested mainstream listener would be dislodged.

All in all, Sunday Junkie plays a style of music that’s hard to pin down and a little outside the mainstream, as the duo incorporates a variety of stylistic influences in an unique way, but from the cool opening drum beats and the mid-song rhythmic breakdown to the anguished vocals and the late-song build-up in intensity, “Holy, Holy” engages and maintains my attention. After a few listens, I looked forward to it coming up while listening through my review queue the last several weeks.

I had this single review already half-written before I even heard the whole album, so I decided to just review the single but mention the album. So what about the album? Well, if Sunday Junkie’s style is in your wheelhouse, you should go directly to the whole album via this link and listen to it beginning to end. If your tastes are more mainstream, I’d suggest starting with “Holy, Holy.” It’s the most likely song in Sunday Junkie’s repertoire to appeal to fans crossing over from other genres. Your next best bets might be my favorites on the full-length disc besides “Holy, Holy,” which are “Death Defier” and “Sister,” probably because they both sport a wall-of-noise melodic alt-rock vibe, and despite my love of variety and willingness to experiment musically, my taste in music still tends to center on the mainstream. Whether you dig the whole album or just a few songs, though, you ought to be able to find something you like from Sunday Junkie.