HotWax – ‘Hot Shock’ album review: I hope you like rock music?
THE SKINNY: The first time I saw HotWax was in The Lexington in London, shortly after they’d just signed with Marathon. It was a strange gig. The girl from Just Stop Oil who threw soup on the Vincent van Gogh painting was there, and Jeremy Corbyn did a recorded speech for some reason, but the main takeaway from the night was that I was very aware I was watching one of the big new guitar bands.
Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to catch them live a number of times, and each gig further cements the band as masters of hard rock. Each second of their shows is laced with riffs, solos, heavy instrumentation and dynamic lyricism. I’m giving this context because it’s important to know that I was already pretty sold on this album before going into it. I’d seen them enough to know that I liked their music and had high expectations, but even with my preconceived notions of this record, I was pleasantly blown away by the sheer magnitude of Hot Shock.
Jimmy Page used to have an effect that he called “Waking up the army of guitars.” It was the droning feedback that played before Led Zeppelin songs caused by the amount of distortion he used. Rather than just edit it out, he used that feedback to build atmosphere and tension in his tracks. There is so much more to a guitar than just the noise that comes when you pluck the strings, and HotWax shows an exciting, in-depth knowledge of this throughout their debut album.
You have riffs and solos; no one is arguing with that, and they sound great, but there are other exciting aspects to the band that it’s impossible not to get excited about. They can play around with chaos and use it as an additional instrument, something to be embraced instead of feared. HotWax is one of the most exciting rock outfits in modern music, and they prove as much on this album that needs to be experienced to be believed.
For fans of: Anything adrenaline-inducing, parties at strangers’ houses and pure chaos.
A concluding comment from an ear plug salesperson: “Let’s just say business is booming.”
Hot Shock track by track:
Release: March 7th | Producer: Catherine Marks and Steph Marziano | Label: Marathon
‘She’s Got A Problem’: HotWax waste no time throwing us into a guitar-heavy, grunge-like, attitude-laden album. A few hits of drums, and the track is in full force. Lyrics, distortion, thumping bass—all of it is uncovered. It’s hard not to be excited about what’s to come. [3.5/5]
‘Wanna Be A Doll’: A catchy-pop-like vocal melody sits comfortably on top of a harsh, scratchy electric guitar. The combination of established rhythm over guitar sounds that so often sit on the edge of chaos is a beautiful contradiction and highlights everything that separate HotWax from other guitar bands in the modern age. [4/5]
‘Strange To Be Here’: A haunting guitar line kicks things off on ‘Strange To Be Here’, laden with doom and gloom. A strange feedback effect breaks up this introduction before lyrics are ushered in. HotWax well and truly use their instruments in every way possible to give listeners something that they might not have heard before. It’s a genre in itself and a lot of fun to listen to. [4.5/5]
‘Dress Our Love’: There’s more of a bouncy rhythm on ‘Dress Our Love’; that grunge punk sound is still there, but this feels like a track you can dance to. Their tone throughout the album is consistent, but these little inflexions separate songs and keep listeners engaged. The record has clearly been meticulously put together. [4/5]
‘Hard Goodbye’: Bass is filled to the brim with fuzz, and the guitar and drums are optimistic. This song has the energy of old-school punk numbers, where people don’t dance but instead just run around rooms and hope they don’t bump into people. That said, the tone of the chorus is also incredibly uplifting. It’s a song full of sonic contradictions and a great listen. [4/5]
‘One More Reason’: The opening lyrics of “Give me one more reason to love you” with the mimicking guitar are fairly separate from those we have previously heard on the album, yet they still fit right into place in this song. Outbursts of “hey” and small guitar solos remind you that you’re neck-deep in a rock album, and there is no escape. [3.5/5]
‘In Her Bedroom’: A brooding guitar line kicks things off as a story about someone stealing money and secrets from a bystander’s bedroom is told. It’s worth noting how good some of HotWax’s storytelling on this album is, and that’s truly highlighted on ‘In Her Bedroom’, which uses the written word and fluctuating instrumentation to take us through this twisted tale. [4.5/5]
‘Lights On’: A borderline acoustic intro, much cleaner than we’ve grown accustomed to. Even when distortion comes in the form of a hard riff about 30 seconds in, the track feels much more tame than its predecessors. This isn’t a criticism; it’s a nice change of pace that gives us more time to appreciate some individual elements of the band rather than just the collective sound they make. [4/5]
‘Chip My Teeth For You’: Another grunge-heavy song. Chord changes are done laboriously as if the strings are coated in sandpaper. Lyrics are dynamic and packed with emotion. Drums are heavy, upbeat, versatile and loud. The result is a wall of sound, not the kind Phil Spector made, but a proper wall, one that hits you hard and fast and knocks you for six. [5/5]
‘Pharmacy’: You can breathe again now. After an LP of distortion, energy, and punches packed, HotWax strip things right back on the outro ‘Pharmacy’. Made predominantly of acoustic guitar, with small guitar solos and string sections, this is the perfect way to end such a wonderfully chaotic record. [4.5/5]
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