An incredibly off-kilter, big juicy ball of energy that absolutely took my breath away!
The Hot Rails' new album "Single Entendre" is an incredibly off-kilter, big juicy ball of energy that absolutely took my breath away! I'm a sucker for random music, the type that sounds like it's mashing together little snippets from hundreds of bands, and this is a prime example. With track titles such as 'I Am Supernatural (But I Don't Believe In The Supernatural)' and 'Snakes n Sparklers', I was intrigued before I'd even put the CD into the player!
Incorporating several genres into one unique sound that I'm not even going to attempt to categorise, The Hot Rails certainly know how to leave an impression! Super sleazy with gritty vocals and adrenalin-rush guitar riffs, each track is an anthem in its own right. Powerful and rebellious, rockers of all ages and backgrounds will find something that appeals to them here.
Reflecting its bizarre contents, the album cover's animated artwork is wonderfully naughty, featuring a menagerie of characters including zombies, ghouls, hippies, naked chicks, devils, a guy who looks akin to He-Man (getting an idea of the randomness yet?) and the band members looking terribly retro.
I just couldn't help myself; I fell in love hard and fast with the The Hot Rails. Each song is masterfully written yet I get the feeling that they're not entirely serious; it sounds as if the songs have been hurriedly thrown together, so much so that it almost feels like they're taking the piss! Jumping from punk to hard rock to metal to the type of comical storytelling normally associated with acts such as Tenacious D, you will never become bored of this album.
"Single Entendre" is definitely one of the best albums I've heard in a long time; there is nothing else out there like it! Full of fun without compromising the musicianship, this is one album that should feature in every rocker's collection. Here's hoping The Hot Rails, who hail from Cleveland, Ohio find their way to British shores in the very near future – I would love to see these guys in the flesh!
I'll finish this review with a quote from the album's accompanying press notice that sums up The Hot Rails perfectly: "Look to the Hot Rails for the High Spark of Low Brow"... enough said!