HotWax – ‘Hot Shock’ review: a blistering debut from future rock titans

Back in 2023, snotty breakout single ‘Treasure’ saw HotWax deservedly championed as the next great guitar band to come out of Britain. Plenty of big moves followed, including a couple of urgent, riff-tastic EPs and support slots with childhood heroes Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Royal Blood and The Libertines, not to mention an NME Cover. The Hastings trio have put all of those expectations and their time on the road into their blistering debut album ‘Hot Shock’.

• READ MORE: HotWax are blazing a scorching trail on the UK’s live scene

Opening track ‘She’s Got A Problem’ kicks things off with a hammering assault of guitars, drums and bass while ‘Hard Goodbye’ starts scuzzy before morphing into something more polished but no less vicious. Straddling the worlds of grunge, punk and swaggering rock & roll, every track on ‘Hot Shock’ is a ferocious, unruly beast that’s allowed to stomp around.

A lot of the venom comes from vocalist Tallulah Sim-Savage, who delivers every sneering lyric with surgical fury. She tears into herself on the riotous ‘Wanna Be A Doll’, throwing her own destructive traits into the fire, while her tendency to spill her guts gets a kicking on the rapid-fire ‘Hard Goodbye’. There’s plenty of attitude from drummer Alfie Sayers and bassist Lola Sam as well though, with slinking breakdowns delivered with pummeling passion and precision.

That blatant chemistry is nothing short of joyful – despite the menace that can be felt across ‘Hot Shock’, the band don’t shy away from playful rock’n’roll excess either. A giddy, reckless abandon fuels ‘In Her Bedroom’ while the relentless ‘One More Reason’ comes complete with a whirring ray gun guitar solo. Add in the sleek groove of existential crisis anthem ‘Strange To Be Here’ and the smirking bite of ‘Dress Our Love’; HotWax clearly know how to turn uncomfortable angst into an excuse for a good time.

It can be tough to capture the energy of an electrifying guitar band on record, but a stellar production team consisting of Catherine Marks (boygenius, Wolf Alice), Steph Marziano (Picture Parlour, Hayley Williams), and Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa have found a way to bottle HotWax’s chaotic, cathartic rage without dulling the edges. And even when they slow things down, HotWax don’t let up. The rumbling ‘Lights On’ lets the tender poetry of the lyrics shine (“I wanted it all and I wanted it for me”), there’s rampant desire and prickling uncertainty behind ‘Chip My Teeth For You’ while the closing ‘Pharmacy’ is pretty and fearless. “I cannot take this softly,” sings Sim-Savage as HotWax once again go hard.

Like Queens Of The Stone Age at their party-starting best, HotWax’s debut album is full of filthy rock’n’roll that’s made for dancing. That next great guitar band has arrived.

Details

• Release date: 7 March, 2025
• Record label: Marathon Artists

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