Hot Springs - Volcano

Hot Springs are another band from Montreal. Damn them. Another one. What is with these Montrealers eh? There seem to be a hell of a lot of bands coming out of there recently (or at least getting more attention), and the sickening thing is that most of them i've heard are actually pretty great, and so I can't even properly complain about it! Damn them! So Hot Springs are a female fronted four piece, and Volcano is their debut record. And a fine one it is. Opener Headrush has loose, snappy drumming, which gives it a faux-amateur Mekonsy feel, or if you like a more jammy Sleater Kinney (Woods-era). Things feel organic, as if worked out by playing rather than thinking too much or buggering about in a studio. Vocally, the frontwoman sounds fragile, waivery...maybe a bit like Martha Wainwright or a more rock Beth Gibbons (these are good things) ? What's also nice is that she mixes English with French, which is always pleasant (when it ain't MC Solaar). It's a pretty varied record, wth some nice mellow, Electrelane-esque moments like 'Fog and the Horn', and generally the trend is for well thought out, mid-pace rock with a byline in snappy rock and roll jangle (see Pink Money. There's a sprinkle of keyboards, but always used as support rather than as kitsch hooklines, and the band sound like...a band. You know, as I said before, like people who play together rather than people struggling to cohere as they try to make 'an album'. Overall the record is definitely intriguing, and definitely one i'll be going back to. More info on their myspace or official site.

Hot Springs - Fog and the Horn
Hot Springs - Pink Money