On their dynamic self-titled debut, Ramona and the Holy Smokes deliver some rollicking honky-tonk barroom ramblers interspersed with smoky lounge ballads. Singer Ramona Martinez’s powerful vocals move from the emotionally resonant registers of Patsy Cline to the soaring melodic heights of Mandy Barnett. The Holy Smokes—guitarist and co-producer Kyle Kilduff, pedal steel guitarist Brooks Hefner, bassist Jay Ouypron, and drummer Porter Bralley—lay down infectious grooves that will get listeners up and two-stepping across the dance hall floor.
“Gonna Be Mine,” the album’s opening track, gallops off as the sounds of horses’ hooves fade into Kilduff’s Leon Rhodes-like swinging guitar riffs and Hefner’s shimmering layers of pedal steel. Martinez breezy vocals weave over and around the music, playfully evoking the interplay between yearning and fantasy.
