Swan song from Hot Hot Heat arrives in June

Vancouver-based rock band Hot Hot Heat has unveiled details on its forthcoming, and final  self-titled LP. It is set to be released via Kaw-Liga Records on June 24 (iTunes pre-order).

 

The first single from the album, "Kid Who Stays in the Picture," is a song front man Steve Bays penned about parting ways with a best friend as well as the importance of fighting to stay young at heart and holding on to your innocence for as long as you can. Stream “Kid Who Stays In The Picture” HERE.
 

Hot Hot Heat is the final release from a band that has innovated the indie rock scene since 2002, when they shook dance floors with the release of their debut album Make Up The Breakdown via Seattle-based label Sub Pop Records.

 

"To be able to tour from 1999 to 2014 and play hundreds of shows a year was amazing," Bays says. "It changed all of our lives. It was the greatest experience I could ever imagine. I can relate to our fans and I respect our fans. They are the kind of people I'd hang out with. I'm proud of every single record, and of finding the ground between making it challenging and fresh, but also not being afraid to be entertaining and put on a crazy show. Every show we ever did was just a total high energy spectacle and that's a great legacy to have." 

 

Written between 2011 and 2014, Hot Hot Heat moves away from the experimental sensibility of 2010's Future Breeds and looks back to their first two albums for inspiration.

 

The idea was to be as natural as possible and get in touch with their inherent skill for songwriting. After penning a batch of songs, the band gathered in 2014 to record the 10 best with Canadian musician and producer Ryan Dahle, who worked on Future Breeds. 

 

"We wanted it to feel cohesive and representative of the aesthetic we were into at that point," says Bays, who co-produced the album with Dahle in their adjoining studios. "We wanted it to feel like it was all the same album even though it had been written over several years. The songs are the 10 songs we were the most excited about in the moment. The idea behind the album was: If you want to try and do something great, it can only be when the inspiration hits." 

 

Their signature style pervades the songs. "Pulling Levers" reflects on how you can become so different from someone you've known. "Modern Mind," a brash, swaggering dance rock song, asks questions about the concept of the future and presents itself as an ode to art and technology. "Bobby Jones Sex Tape," a post-punk track filled with swirling synths and a hand-clapped beat, gives the album a sense of boisterous momentum, particularly in its buoyant, hook-laden chorus, while "Magnitude" draws on the band's simpler tendencies, creating what Bays calls a "sentimental, pretty song."

 

"The older I get, the more I like music that is pretty and music that shows vulnerability," he continues. "I think you can hear that throughout these songs." 

 

Track listing:

 

1. Kid Who Stays In The Picture
2. Modern Mind
3. Pulling Levers
4. Bobby Joan Sex Tape
5. Magnitude
6. Mayor Of The City
7. Alaskan Midnight Sun
8. Comeback Of The Century
9. Sad Sad Situation
10. The Memory's Here