Elevator - Hot Hot Heat > Reviews > RAISING THE TEMPERATURE

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Tight, taut guitars, compact songs, catchy riffs and melodies
Disadvantages:	Oft - cloying vocals, couple of weak links

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

As a famous singer once crooned: "What a difference a day made…. 24 little hours…". Actually, scratch that thing about the day, replace it with a year. What a difference a year makes, eh? Little more than a year ago Hot Hot Heat were 'the next big thing', as lauded by an (as usual) enthusiastic music press, releasing their debut album 'Make Up The Breakdown' to critical acclaim, and embarking on tour supported by some bunch of unknowns from Scotland calling themselves Franz Ferdinand. Fast-forward to the present day and we see that Franz Ferdinand seem on the brink of taking over the world, followed by a gamut of other 'British Invasion' bands such as Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party, while those pesky Americans have hopped aboard the current craze for keyboards and guitars, with the Killers and the Bravery coming to prominence over the last year. And all the while Hot Hot Heat, their album flopping badly in both Britain and America, have disappeared into the darkness, never to be seen again… well, not quite. The boys from that big country to the north of the United States (that would be Canada) have now returned and have a new album out - 'Elevator'.

The album isn't as spiky as 'Make Up The Breakdown' and the punkier elements have been toned down somewhat in favour of a richer and more melodic sound. This has both its advantages and disadvantages. The album is a pleasant enough listen (at the risk of sounding like a reviewer for Classic FM) and certainly has a high degree of polish to it, but fans of the original sound (or, rather, the three fans who bought the debut album) may find themselves not liking the polish of the new material. Hard luck for them, I suppose. Then again, the album is something of a jump forward for a band perhaps desperate to make headway into a more commercial sector, following their old tour-mates from Franz into the Premier League from rock's equivalent of the Nationwide Conference.

'Running Out Of Time', the album's opening gambit, is effortlessly cool and makes full use of lead vocalist Steve Bays' melodic tones. 'Goodnight Goodnight' is uncomplicated, unfussy and economical, but prove that this is a band who excel at turning an uncomplicated formula into something quite great. It is a song that has suitable-for-radio tattooed all over it, echoing the spirits of XTC and Elvis Costello in their prime. One of the albums highlights is the insanely catchy 'Dirty Mouth'. The song is tight, efficient and unfussy and the spiky guitars are pushed to the fore. The album shines with new wave polish while retaining some of the dirty grittiness that made 'Make Up The Breakdown' such compulsive listening.

One of the best things about 'Elevator' is the pace. Songs flash by at such breakneck speed, with furious guitars and yelping vocals thrown into the mix, the majority of songs on the album being around two minutes in length. There's no room for extended guitar solos and instrumentals, the songs are short and compact but often quite blistering in their fury. The album also reveals Hot Hot Heat to be a band with a social concern, poking fun at the culture that surrounds them, from the boys that were probably bullied at high school. The lyrics are witty, smart and erudite throughout, which makes for a wonderful combination when added to the propulsive, catchy melodies. 'You Owe Me An IOU' is insidiously catchy and attractive, while 'Island Of The Honest Man' plays the same trick that The Cars used to have down to a pat, of covering biting lyrics ("He was in the habit/Of taking things for granted/Granted/There wasn't much for him to take") in gorgeous, drive-time melodies. Indeed, a lot of the album has traces of The Cars, notably the polished 'Pickin' It Up'.

There are moments where quality control let the band down, though, as the lazy 'Ladies and Gentlemen' proves. It is a song which just screams 'filler' at you, as though the band needed an extra track to make up the numbers and recorded this sloppy effort. 'Jingle Jangle' is in a similar vein, a lethargic number that not even the most urgent guitars could save. The album is noteworthy as it is the bands first without guitarist Dante DeCaro, such a major part of 'Make Up The Breakdown', who quit during the recording of 'Elevator' due to 'creative differences'. You get the sense that with DeCaro gone, Bay and his vocals are pushed to the fore, and these will not be to everyone's tastes, Bay as a vocalist is something of an acquired taste, sometimes he sounds just too sugary for this reviewer's liking.

This isn't as esoteric as 'Make Up The Breakdown' and the songs are almost universally catchy, so it should have a broader base of appeal. There are enough great hooks and catchy riffs on the album to suck any listener in and the album merits repeated listens. The album shows a definite sign of progress and evolution and indicates a band with bigger ambitions than those they are already attaining. Unpretentious, economical and adept, 'Elevator' demonstrates that Hot Hot Heat are a band with a promising future.

'Elevator' is available from Amazon.co.uk for £8.99