Veteran Philly rockers Soraia crank it up with “So Holy.” The single, recorded in Sweden with producer Tomas Skogsberg during sessions for an EP slated for release in August, conjures Joan Jett, Lita Ford and other runaway rockers—including Bon Jovi—who embrace volume and energy. Add in potent power chords and, like Jett, you have a tasty sound that combines hard rock, punk and even bubblegum.
The song, about the oppressive times we find ourselves in, came about from a backstage conversation between Soraia’s frontwoman ZouZou Mansour and the Idiot Boys’ Jon-Mikal Bartee; it initially inspired Bartee to translate what they said into chords and a chorus, with Mansour then fleshing out his initial sketch before both of them colored it in. As she explains in the press release, “A lot of people think they’re better than others because of religion or where they grew up. This is a song about being tired of listening to that garbage.”
Through the years, it should be noted, the band—which also includes bassist Travis Smith, drummer Brianna Sig, and guitarist Mike Jaffe—has released six albums, two EPs and a slew of singles. They’ve opened for the likes of Bon Jovi, Little Steven and his Disciples of Soul, Wolfmother, Story of the Year, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. (On the 19th, in fact, they’ll be preceding Jett on stage when she and her band headline at the Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) They have a short tour slated this summer, as well, plus a few Scandinavian dates scheduled in the fall.
The Old Grey Cat 