album of the week: 8.1

Hot Hot Heat

Future Breeds

Dangerbird (2010)

why you'll love it: distorted synth rock, and moody slow numbers

why you'll hate it: nobody cares about Hot Hot Heat anymore

Last time we heard from the Canadian new wavers, Hot Hot Heat, they were nosediving straight into the dustbin of pop history. They've endured a whole lot of bad luck, either arriving too soon or too late for the fleeting indie-dance fads that littered the naughties. Happiness Ltd. (2007) although, had no excuses. It was just a bad album, which came off as a desperate final lunge to grab watered down mainstream radio recognition. The radio didn't bite, and the indie community had shut them out like a high school clique.

I thought that would be the last we'd hear of the band, a footnote of the dance-punk revival era. Perhaps it's all for the better that Hot Hot Heat sunk into the dregs of mainstream mediocrity, because Future Breeds strikes back at clean cut pop like a super villain. These songs will give you headaches. They are noisy, abrasive, and some of the best stuff I've ever heard from them.

It's funny how the band has come full circle. Long before anything close to a hit they ever had, they were a local noise-band. Despite the lineup being 50% different, there is a nostalgic similarity to the album Scenes One Through Thirteen. I'd say this is a treat for those fans, but I doubt any of them have stuck it out for nearly a decade to get to a return to a dirtier sound again.

Wisely, this isn't complete reversal for the band. It's more of an evolutionary step. All the songs are still catchy and fun, just distorted. Steve Bays' songwriting has never been predictable, but his squeaky and stuttering delivery has always remained, and lends to this crazy style better than normal pop songs. A couple songs, such as "21 @ 12" and "Nobody's Accusing You" are the most reminiscent of typical Hot Hot Heat songs, but still have a new edge to them.

Some of my favorite songs on here like "Times A Thousand" and "Zero Results" have an original dark lounge jazzy feel. Something they've only barely touched on in the past in a couple songs like "Ladies And Gentlemen" It's the brain-grating tracks like "JFK's LSD" and "YVR" that will be remembered most though. It's doubtful that anybody is listening to Hot Hot Heat anymore, but I'm not sure exactly how much they care. I'm just glad they've decided to go down in a blaze of innovation rather than a whimper.