It’s certainly all stations go with The Hot Melts relentless devotion to all things rock ‘n’ roll, with the announcement that the Wirral based 4-piece will be releasing a new single and their eagerly awaited debut album this summer.
‘Red Lips’ the new single and long time crowd pleaser is a hulking vengeful behemoth of a tune, whose principal ingredients provoke utter frenzy with its monstrous swooning grungesque guitars and unsettling memorable choruses. All in all it’s 3 minutes 13 of pure bliss!
The Hot Melts were the first British band to sign a worldwide deal with Epitaph Records’ UK based imprint Wonderland Records, wooing the legendary punk label back in 2007 with their thrashy guitar driven pop. Shortly after label and band were united, The Melts flew out to Chicago to cut their debut with the help of Marc McClusky (Farewell, Hit The Lights), and landed back on this side of the pond with a 13-track masterpiece!
Tracklisting
1 Red Lips
2 Edith
3 Big baby
4 My Sweetness Is Making Me Ill
5 Fun
6 24
7 (I Wish I Had) Never Been In Love
8 Nana
9 Happiness Is A Weakness
10 Archie
11 Shrink
12 Depressed? Oh Yes
13 God Will Drive My Hearse
With musical influences ranging from Weezer to Eddie Cochran, singer Will Bayliss also finds inspiration in Wes Anderson films, the laugh out loud comedy mixed with the underlying depression in his films are echoed throughout The Melts album. ‘Happiness Is A Weakness’ is a perfect example; an upbeat, chirpy track which opens with the lines ‘I’m obsessed with sadness, I embrace the blues…’. Mixing cynical observations with the buoyant and cheery is also found in ‘Fun’ (a track about ‘not having any’!).‘Big Baby’ opens with a-Strokes alike riff, and pulls you in with its soaring harmonies and addictive hooks. All in all, this is a British gem of an album and not to be missed.
The Hot Melts self-titled album is not only a deliciously carefree romp through a musical minefield of nasty, catchy pop songs of sheer unsettling beauty, but it also provides much needed spiritual fulfilment.
The Hot Melts are Will Bayliss singer/songwriter, Jack Prince on drums, Jamie Otsa on bass and new boy Chris Melian replacing Jonny Green on guitar.
