Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5/5 Released: September 11, 2007 Reviewer: David Coats |
Following several delays, in an effort to get the follow-up to 2005’s Elevator just right, Victoria dance-rockers Hot Hot Heat finally return with Happiness Ltd. It’s clear that the delays were worth it, because the band has emerged with their best record to date.
For those expecting more of the same, you’re right – sort of. Each song contains something surprising and something unsurprising. By the time ‘Harmonicas & Tambourines’ reaches its chorus, you begin to notice a pattern: It’s not that HHH have changed, exactly, so much as they’re building on their power-pop strengths. This is just as danceable as their older material, and just as hook-laden, but the pace is more intense, the musicianship more adventurous, and the song writing more mature.
Right from the get-go, the band sound heavier and more deliberate, as the title track is HHH’s most overt rock song in years. The band’s melodies are still strong, but somewhat muddied (especially on ‘5 Times Out Of 100’) by the increase in instrumental heaviness – a trade-off that isn’t perfect, but which the band virtually had to risk to move forward.
The songs in general are better-developed than from past records, even if they remain lyrically average, with more songs deep enough to extend past three minutes. It is also to the band’s credit that they have managed to sound both heavier and more organic (handclaps, organ, strings, piano, cowbell) simultaneously. The band also emphasizes vocal harmonies on this record, which they really haven’t done before, and lead vocalist Steve Bays sounds powerful and more purposeful than he has yet.
Hot Hot Heat notoriously make ‘first impression’ records that, while good, lose impact over the long-term aside from a catchy single or two. That said, Happiness Ltd. is more likely to live up to it’s strong first impression than the band’s previous records.
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