Hot Head Show
London, England, United Kingdom
Music
Press
We rate this:Â 8 out of 10
Readers rate this: 10 out of 10
Hot Head Show are Stan Dudley, the unfeasibly named Jordan Bennet and drummer Beatamax (Now, that’s definitely not his real name) could become one of the UK’s favourite underground, touring bands, on the evidence of this EP. Led by the title track’s relentless bass thrum and Bennet spouting nonsense in a gruff pseudo-croon, the combination of tropical punk beats, break downs you’d expect to hear at the Jazz Café, and a wiry guitar line that flits into hardcore stab, they're even weirder than their friends and fellow “Mungrul� scenesters Orion Arm.
The weird turns pro on ‘Whiskey Pocket’s’ staccato, jarring punk-funk (Jarring because it sometimes sounds like AC/DC’s take on punk-funk). The enticement of the opener is revived on hidden track ‘The Lemon’. It ripples and funks around like a skanked up Minutemen, making your feet wobble in every direction at once, but HHS have the potential to gain cult following all of their own. - DieShellSuitDie (online magazine)
HOT HEAD SHOW - CHOPSTICKABEAN EP
Hot Head Show
'Chopstickabean EP'
(Unsigned)
Released: September 2008
****
It would seem a mammoth task for any music journo to try and classify the type of music that London/Herts. trio Hot Head Show partake in. Drawn to each others musical talents at an early age through school orchestral meets, band members Jordan Bennett and Stan Dudley began to build an appreciation for a variety of genres, with a gradual leaning towards the free flowing realms of jazz. Years passed, musical ventures intervened and Beatamax, the bands current drummer, decided to join the band whether they liked it or not.
Whilst the founding members early admiration for jazz certainly seems to pole axe much of the bands current music it's not on traditional lines and skips through various other closely linked genres like acid jazz, funk, rock and even hip hop. Opener 'Chopstickabean', from the bands release of the same name, a complete one off, incomparable to anything you will have heard before runs like a bullet train. With Beatamax (The Usain Bolt of the drumming world) supplying the beats, it's fast and frantic, so much so that vocalist Jordan Bennett's earthy lyrics seem to blur uncontrollably into a lengthy verbal growl. 'The Lemon' the EP's second track clearly shows the bands appreciation for funk, giving up a sound that's somewhere between the textbook sounds of Jamiroquai and an attitude laden Girls Aloud number (minus the high pitched vocals of course). 'Whiskey Pocket' is a return to the calming, reggae sounds of The Police whilst 'Ritalin' would seem to be the same vibe influenced by the alcohol content of a small brewery.
Hot Head Show are very different and music fans are latching on to this. With increasing numbers at their gigs it can't be long before they are snapped up by one of the small independent labels, check them out !
As for the bands genre lets just call it 'Unique'.
www.myspace.com/hotthedd
Matt Clutton - The Fat Llama New Music Review
Hot Head Show are a new three piece band from London. Their debut single is due for release shortly on Scatty Cat Records. A promo for this release arrived this morning and I have to say it makes a refreshing change to some of the more conventional indiepop I have been sent lately. Not that there is anything wrong with conventional indiepop - it's just nice to hear some other 60s, 70s and 80s influences picked up upon.
Hot Head Show combine complex rhythms and spikey - nearly Ska sounding - guitar to great effect. Lead song 'Chopstickabean' sounds like a hot wired cross between Minutemen and Stump. Yes, it's that good. It's fast but still tuneful - which is not an easy trick to pull off. The three songs on this promo have got me interested to hear more from this trio. I am also keen to investigate the Scatty Cat label as they're apparently working with a few more bands of this ilk.
Trevor Lostmusic - Lostmusic.com
Hot Head Show are crisp and hectic; listening is like scampering through a fairground with small dogs snapping at your heels. This nimble, racing music is an angry staccato riposte to Deerhoof, with moments of Nick Cave passion and Beefheart blues confusion - they offer the complex pleasure of shaking your head in three directions at once. - Clive Bell - The Wire
Discography
Chopstickabean EP - Sept 2008
Photos
Bio
"a complete one off, incomparable to anything you will have heard before"
music-zine.com
"Appealingly bizzare...a genuinely fresh take on ska"
Time Out
"Somewhere between the textbook sounds of Jamiroquai and an attitude-laden Girls Aloud number...Hot Head Show are very different."
Fat Llama New Music Review
Though its three members have played together on and off in countless bands, orchestras, choirs and other music groups since they were small children, Jordan, Jamie and Max started Hot Head Show in earnest early in 2008.
All six of their parents are full-time working musicians, counting among their number two orchestral players, a Shakuhachi soloist, a prolific Hollywood filmscore composer, Europe's foremost bowed bicycle wheel virtuoso, and the lead singer of 70's prog-acid outfit Curved Air. To these people music is, and always has been, the family business.
Having now supplemented their regular diet of impromptu squat party appearances with around 40 club dates, as well as out-of-town gigs in places like Brighton, Nottingham and Leeds, their live show is a formidable exercise in musical slight of hand; tension, contrast, cunning twists and sudden explosions- true rock & roll theatre that attempts to tread the very limits of what a simple three piece guitar band can be.
See for yourself at: www.myspace.com/hotthedd
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