HotWax - Hot Shock

It’s somewhat unbelievable to think that while HotWax are still barely legal to drink in America, the trio have been offering up singles for the better part of five years now. Honing their brand of rough-around-the-edges rock via a slew of notable support slots and live shows in more recent years (opening for the likes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Royal Blood and Frank Carter), the Hastings-via-Brighton trio might still be relative babies compared to the stalwarts of the genre, but there’s a real sense of accomplishment that flows through their debut. 

Clocking in at just ten tracks (and less than 30 minutes), ‘Hot Shock’ is a concise but hefty run through their take on punk-rock, with little veering from their mission to replicate their live presence. ‘Strange To Be Here’ unfurls into a sense of unhinged chaos, before ‘Dress Our Love’ swaggers into view; later, ‘Chip My Teeth For You’ is a darker, scuzzier affair that soon transforms into an urgent rally cry. Admittedly, there’s not much in the way of dynamic surprises here - save for the acoustic-led closer ‘Pharmacy’, perhaps - but for a debut album, it’s a distilled demonstration of their talents thus far.