What happens when you take one-part Tequila Mockingbyrd, one-part Cult Classic, one-part Amorette and one-part New Device? Absolute solid fucking gold. Born out of the ashes of The Amorettes and Tequila Mockingbyrd as Josie O’Toole and Gill Montgomery worked together to complete touring commitments ( when bands had those?) under both bands, they added in Laurie Buchanan to flesh it out. It was pretty much a Thanos-level inevitability that a new band would form and here we have it in the shape of The Hot Damn!
Adding Lzi Hayes into the new collective brings us into 2021 and more than anything, it shows how wonderfully collaborative musicians can be with an unmatched level of camaraderie. “Dance Around” does exactly what it says on the tin – you’ll be dancing around to this in no time. It’s a fun, upbeat song describing fun times and the joy to be found in the most simplest of activities such as having your favourite music blaring in your car.
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As a unit, they’re absolutely solid, but having seen three quarters of the line-up over the years, their pedigree made this a guaranteed great song. Full of high-octane riffs back by a thick pop gloss without ever becoming saccharine, by the second listen, I already felt familiar with the lyrics – such is their catchy nature. It’s delightfully modern, fuelled by their own previous efforts as well as their influences, it’s the dose of hard rock 2021 needs. Solid, thumping drum work from O’Toole meshes perfectly with Hayes’ gnarly bass line. Meanwhile, Mongomery and Buchanan’s riffs dance around each other, veering from hard rock to punk to pop and back again effortlessly, never becoming jarring.
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Throw Blondie, Pat Benatar, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Nirvana’s more radio-friendly moments into a blender and you’ve got The Hot Damn! down their very essence. They could have easily rested on their laurels and used their past individual achievements do the legwork but there’s a raw hunger behind the music – something you only see in the best of bands. Instead, they’ve put the songwriting and composition at the forefront of their raison d’etre and the quartet have gelled together seamlessly to let their music do the talking for them.
Header image by Joshua Leo Dorfman
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“Dance Around” is released on 2nd July
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[…] at Moshville Times. That neon-clad burst of colourful power pop chaos. Launching in mid-2021 with “Dance Around” after a period of incubation following the folding of Tequila Mockingbyrd and The Amorettes, their […]