The trio Hot Flash Heat Wave is taking us away from their garage band, southern California sound for a departure to the many influences of indie-pop for their Junior project Sportswear. The trio, consisting of Ted Davis, Adam Abilgaard and Nick Duffy, draw from many historical progressive influences on this project with their own witty bite of inspired garage and house blend mixed in. Found all over this album is subtle, and not so subtle musical influences of mid 80’s New Wave synth and production quality. Lyrical parallels of early indie bands in the turn of the century, such as Vampire Weekend (I cannot confirm nor deny that the naming of the song “Vampire” is a coincidence) and Two Door Cinema Club, also creep their way into the puzzle piece perfection of writing, primarily by Abilgaard. With all this influence though is no plagiarism, as the band still finds plenty of time to strut their stuff with some heavier beats and nastier guitar lines that could easily be considered their signature.
The opening track practically screams “this is gonna be something different but familiar, and you’re gonna love it”, with ethereal synth motivated vocals and beat that are simply infectious. If you weren’t already hooked, the next track “2 Birds” has much more palatable soft beats that don’t stray far away from the dreamy sound of the first track. What breaks the tension is well placed high guitar that pierces through the soft electronic sounds for a little jolt of energy. Put on your parachute pants, because the next song “Bay Boys” is absolutely love letter to the 80’s. Nick Duffy’s lower but sweeter voice is so reminiscent Simon Le Bon, and the heavy rhythm guitar mixed with electronic beats make this track feel like its almost 35 years late. Vocal duties are swapped on “Where I’m @”, and for the best, as this track boasts introspective lyrics that fit in stride with the pushy but loving motivation of the almost completely synthetic production. It creates a perfect sense of wandering, and if you’re not careful, will make you get lost in it just as I did. “Vampires” yet again pays homage to a yonder age, but this time with it’s carefully crafted guitar sound that is purely classic. The tension of older-pop is broken with well written melodic lines and undertones that were born to be played with that kind of sound. Hot Flash Heat Wave returns to their not-so-distant roots however with “Grudge”, a down in the dirt, purely garage sound that made the band famous in the first place. If “Bay Boys” was a love letter to the 80’s, then this track is a love letter to longtime fans, coming in perfectly halfway through the track listing. The next track “m o t i o n s” takes things a bit slower, relying on a sweet and easy-going R&B feel to support Abilgaard’s “going through the motions” as it were in his lyrics. The non-intrusive nature of the sounds on this song let the lyrics sing, making the message that much slyer and ever-lasting. We pick up the pace however on the next song “Spin” a jaunty guitar piece that could just as easily be played around a campfire as in the studio. The guitar sings the real lyrics here, with neatly crafted melodies and chords that have just enough kick to keep you coming back for more. “The Void”, the next track up to bat, takes a sharp turn in terms of sound and lyricism. In fact, it takes such a sharp turn that it visits an entirely different side of the 80’s, with darker, drearier tones carried alongside much lower vocals, and synth beat motivated forward movement akin to bands like New Order and The Cure. The final song on our listing “Like Nothing Else”, leaves the listener on a sweet note, with a careful and tireless ballad whose bluesy sound and lyrics could no doubt test the limits of timelessness if not for a couple of sounds that weren’t possible 20 years ago.
Hot Flash Heat Wave dances with the major influences of today’s indie-pop and I’m all for it. The rediscovery of what makes the sound that we here at KTXT have fallen in love with is no cake walk, and the trio hits it in stride. It has been criticized that the songs on the album that follow the band’s personal sound are generally higher quality, but to simply chock this album up to a band still finding their sound with experimentation is doing them a disservice. The fact that the group has the guts to try to rediscover their roots shows me personally that they know exactly what their sound is, and the massive, fruitful family tree that comes with it…
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