Hot Hot Heat - Elevator REVIEW

Hot Hot Heat - Elevator REVIEW: A

Honestly, this is one of the bands that got me hooked back into listening to new artists and new music.

For a while back there, I wasn't really into new music, basically because we didn't have many outlets to discover them, outside of the buy and get burned way -- well, now with iTunes and my discovery of internet radio, I am back into the swing of new music and new artists

This release was much anticipated by me, simply because I really liked their energy on Make Up The Breakdown and on their EP with Steve

Ironically, the album Elevator starts with "Introduction", some Muzak sounding doodling that sounds like elevator music ... pretty funny stuff

"Running Out of Time" is the first full track ... fun right out the box, HHH delivers, with a carnival organ sounding doodle ... dynamic music, poppy in orientation, big hook ... with that traditional HHH big build to crescendo on choruses -- the neat thing about this one is that the second verse strips back to the backbeat only

"Goodnight Goodnight" ... more of the dynamic and energetic HHH that we all love, the first single ... a lot to love with this one, smart lyrics, that quick vocal delivery of tongue twisting lines, and upbeat quirky guitar driven by a strict backbeat -- almost too easy to like this one

"Ladies and Gentleman" ... the LAs are out in the beginning, this one is more stompy than poppy -- lots of la la la -- lots of twisty turny tempo, vocals going out then falling back like fireworks ... it's a good track, it doesn't really pop, it stays the course kind of like controlled bursts of energy

"You Owe Me an IOU" ... this one is classic pop from HHH, this one is gonna be huge ... smart lyrics, upbeat vocals, the big hook with lots of crash ... builds to very catchy bridge, then strips back down to Steve only ... the bursts out nicely back into the hook -- this one is a gem

"No Jokes - fact" ... again more elevator muzak type doodling, see the trend here? I am wondering whether they think the other tracks could be elevator music ... well maybe, if slowed down LOL

"Jingle Jangle" ... perhaps the most clear Steve vocals, no trademark nasal --
this one is almost like alt rock, and the irony is that they pull it off well -- guitar driven, the ever present stomp drums drive it along boom bap boom bap boom boom -- this one is more along the lines of bands like The Killers, I liked it, something different ... I liked the acoustic ending, it was really unexpected and cool sounding

"Pickin' It Up" ... uptempo synth pop with electric clashy punky guitars -- big energy build in the mid section -- big cymbal crash bridge, that resolves with a classic HHH verse ... this one is fun, it has some get the group together and shout to it, too ... interesting track

"Island of the Honest Man" ... this one was the second release, not sure if it's a single ... fuzzed vox on this one, the verse is fairly straightforward HHH stuff with guitar jangles and the big back beat -- the bridge and hook are really big, poppy and oversold ... it doesn't get interesting until the last minute for me, where they do a hard new wave disco sound that is just awesome, it breaks back into the big hook ... I'm a little mixed on it, lots of stuff going on in it, I'm thumbs in the middle about it

"Middle of Nowhere" ... this one is just we are HHH, we know how to put a song together ... it's more jangly than synth driven, and again Steve sings a bit more clean than nasally ... then when you think its more jangly, it switches to synths, damn interesting stuff ... if you like 80s style college or alt rock, you are going to love this one ... really different direction here, but very good

"Dirty Mouth" ... acoustic guitars lead this one ... then into a driving HHH verse, really different tone because the drums are more classically rhythmic than hitting it big and stompy ... again, this one is for those who love 80s style college/alt rock, but enjoy a pop sensibility as well

As you can tell, it is really great album so far ... it does take a bit of a different direction from Knock ... EP or Make Up TB

"Soldier in a Box" ... this one is darker in tone, more rock stomp than your typical HHH sprint through song ... very 70s hard rock tone to it, like Cream or Zep, but like blended with elements of HHH ... weirdly good, a real step out but brought together well

"Shame on You" ... this one is a groove fest, has a really neat latin feel ... similar to Cake ... bass line driven, lots of high hat, lots of cha cha dynamic ... the lazy vocals really blend well ... great synth line as a solo, another amazing song

"Elevator" ... this one is heavily melodic, in a way that reminds of Tears For or that band that starts with a big B ... has like a half stepping vibe to it, and interesting vocal harmonies that sound really really Beatles-ish ... it is amazing because it drops all the instrumentation and blends in acoustic guitars, then drops it back to solo piano, this one is a real tour de force ... nice closer

So what? yeah exactly, another crush by HHH ... definitely different in many ways, experimental but not unfocused, expansive of their recent sound

So much to like, I like it more each time I hear it ... right now, it's a definite A ... maybe later this year this is the SL Album of the Year