Hot Hot Heat

Going up: Elevator has arrived.

Related Content

• Who’s Hot?
  August 19, 2010
• Hot Hot Heat: The Great Indie Experiment, Version 4.0
  August 19, 2010
• Ten Strange Names Rock Stars Gave Their Kids
  July 13, 2011
• Seven Songs Predicting That Travis Barker Would Get Caught With His Pants Down
  January 20, 2012
• The Top Ten Pop Punk Songs That Got Me Through Those Awkward Teenage Years
  June 17, 2011

More About

• Hot Hot Heat
• Steve Bays
• Pete Wentz
• Dante DeCaro

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

According to such dot-com authorities as Pitchfork and Allmusic, Hot Hot Heat's long-awaited new album is a disappointing lump of crap. Maybe everyone's just sick of hearing shitty bands that sound like Hot Hot Heat -- because it's hard to find a single serious fault with Elevator. From the double-knotted chords of "Running Out of Time" to the title track's blatant obeisance to The Bends, it puts just about every recent retro-garage-wave release to shame; dense arrangements and melodies are juxtaposed with doses of wry cleverness and hip-wrenching soul. Unlike its predecessor, Make Up the Breakdown, Elevator knows how to coast on simplicity and grant singer Steve Bays space in which to pant, coo and croon about some of the ugliest beautiful people the pop canon has ever housed. Guitarist Dante DeCaro quit after completing this record, so it remains to be seen if the band will be able to maintain its songwriting momentum. But if and when Hot Hot Heat turns in a trulydisappointing disc, it still won't be able to diminish Elevator's brash, casual genius.