Customer Reviews

Future Breeds

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hot Hot Heat is unmistakably an indie band, and one of the more quirky ones at that. They make wacky sounds, their songs have wacky names, and their music is new wave dance-punk indie rock post-punk revival. If you don't, then by all means stay away. But if you don't want to get out of the kitchen, then by all means, jump into the Hot Hot Heat.

For most of the album, the overall sound stays the same, with only slight experimentation. The results are that the album starts off great, but slowly wares on you as it goes on. Plus, the more electronics and synth are added, the more it seems to devolve. Still, songs like "21@12" are still worth the price of admission for at least a listen.

Overall, an enjoyable indie rock album that goes in some interesting directions, but ultimately fails to come together as a whole. Parts of it are quite good, but the album never returns on the bright promises at the beginning of the album. Still, it has some great song titles.

Real Score: 3.5/5

So the guy has annoying hair. So they are from Canada. So you haven't heard from them since their hit a few years back. But guess what? This album is AWESOME! I saw these guys live a while back and was shocked by how good they are, and this album is their best recording by far. They never sucked but somehow I never really connected with them before, but this is just pure, high energy, dance-rocky fun, and absolutely worth purchasing. I especially recommend "JFK's LSD" and "Zero results".

Hot Hot Heat has sorta disapeared since it's hit album Make Up the Breakdown. That's not to say they've suddenly decided to go back to the sound of 'Scenes 1 Through 13, which, to most ears is a terrible amount of noise used to form a CD. They are different though.
They've gone back to a lot of weird noises, and strange decisions.
It's not bad though, I really like the album on the whole. In my opinion, the worst song is the opener, YVR, I just really hate it, I don't know why.
All in all though, a very good CD. If you liked the playful, fun sounds of the previous albums, you'll enjoy this one. The value isn't even that bad since it's come down in price so far.

Hot Hot Heat get off the major label merry-go-round and back on the Indie Label train for "Future Breeds," which throws off the smoothness of "Happiness Ltd." and goes back to quirky post-new wave. Lead singer Steve Bays sounds loads edgier than anything from "Happiness," and some of the songs spike with oddball electronic energy. "Future Breeds" sounds like HHH once again dropped in from the early 80's to rev-up some MTV-ready video-wave tunes. It also makes "Future Breeds" an uneven album.

Fortunately, the leaden middle of the album ("JFK's LSD," "Jedediah") is counter-balanced by the straightforward cool stuff on either end. There's the frantic ""Implosionistic" and fantastic pop of "Goddess of The Prairie,' along with the old HHH sounding "21@12" (which comes out as 21 at midnight). And I love the line from the closing cut, "Nobody's Accusing You of Having a Good Time" that snorts "some days the grim reaper isn't looking so grim." Stuff like that is what made me an HHH fan in the first place.

When I first caught wind of HHH, it was because of Bray's Robert Smith yelp, which sounded like The Cure being backed by Elvis Costello's Attractions. "Happiness" was an attempt at smoothing things out for major consumption, even if it did boast better songs. With "Future Breeds," they're back where they started, but this time I think only aficionados - like me - are the ones that will really dig it.