Hot Hot Heat

February 2, 2003

Somewhere in between this week’s disasters (the State of the Union and the Columbia), I managed to catch a show at the Troubadour. It was a double bill of the Hot Hot Heat and the Walkmen. I’ll get this out of the way right now and say I left before the Walkmen even showed up. I’m not a huge fan of the Walkmen, although the song they sold for that Saturn commercial is pretty good (it’s called We’ve Been Had, in case you were wondering).

Anyway, back to the Hot Hot Heat, or the HHH, if you wish. They’re a rock band out of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, who’s sound is fairly undescribable. Like a lot of the other “retro” bands, they harken back to an earlier sound. Unlike everyone else, they take their cues from early new wave punk, with punchy keyboards and spiky guitar action laying over an incredibly tight rhythm section. I always end up pulling out the Attractions comparison, because it’s one of the few that make sense to me. Like Costello’s band around the Armed Forces era, the Hot Hot Heat push a more traditional rock sound with some ill fitting keyboard bits that somehow work.

More than anything, the Hot Hot Heat are fun. Their preposterously hooky melodies and danceable pulse make them impossible to stand still to. With a little more success, the Hot Hot Heat live show could become legendary, as their music practically begs for dancing and singing along. When their fans catch up to their music, it could become something really special. Their set consisted of four songs off of the brilliant Knock Knock Knock EP, two new songs (that were sort of lackluster), with the rest of the material off of Make Up the Breakdown.

The band itself throws itself around with energy, especially the lead singer. Unfortunately, he has a really punchable face, and there are times his preening seemed all a bit too much. Still, it seemed to go over well with the people up front, particularly the female fans who snapped photos and commented frequently about the tightness of the singer’s pants.

How fun are the Hot Hot Heat? They’re so danceable and well dressed that everyone thinks they’re gay.

Downloadable mp3s and videos are available on their website. Their current rotation single is Bandages.

Posted in From Blown Speakers