Hot Hot Heat Elevator

Hot Hot Heat are intrinsically annoying. In almost every way imaginable. I mean, just look at them. For a start, their lead singer, Steve Bays, not only has a haircut that would make Sideshow Bob blush, he also plays the keyboard. Sometimes he does it on stage, too. Who would want to play keyboards on stage when you could be otherwise engaged with jumping around the stage like kangaroo on a hot plate. Pah! How annoying is that? How dare they! And to make things even worse for your average indie rock puritan, they've even had the temerity to break the traditional 'third album must be crap' rule that most bands adhere to stringently. How irritating is that? Tut, really...

Joking aside, Elevator by Hot Hot Heat is an absolute beauty of an album. And one that clearly pushed them to the very brink of collapse. It was evidently too much to take for guitarist Dante DeCaro, who left the band as soon as the album was completed. But for all of the peripheral information surrounding this album, what really shines through is what you hear on the little shiny disc you have in front of you. And it's stunning. Taking elements from a veritable toybox of influences from the past 20 years, from the Talking Heads-with-extra-cheerleaders stomp of You Owe Me An IOU to the twisted XTC-esque pop stylings of Middle Of Nowhere, what's clear on Elevator is that whilst the band have undeniably set out to make an album that they could be proud of, they didn't forget to pack their song writing shoes. Steve Bays sometimes wry, often rather bitter confessionals are delivered in such a frantic manner that leaves you feeling a little dizzy, and slightly out of breath. Lead single Goodnight Goodnight is the perfect distillation of the album's sound and energy, with Bays delivering a frank goodbye to a leeching ex-lover with all the energy and breathlessness of a man chasing a bus down a hill, set to the sort of unabashed power pop that you didn't think existed anymore. It's the sort of song that you'll inevitably find yourself jumping around the room to when you know nobody's in the house, and I should know, I've got the scars to prove it.

If you're looking for an album that'll push back musical boundaries, take world leaders to task and make you seem more attractive to the opposite sex, then I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. However, if you want an album that sweeps you off the feet with a knowing wink, takes you out on the best night you've ever had and then stays around to nurse your hangover in the morning, then Elevator is the album for you. An antidote to all of the po-faced indie-rockers out there, and all the more beautiful for it, do yourself a favour and open your ears to this gem as soon as you can.