Featured Release This Week From Hot Hot Heat

The Canadian band Hot Hot Heat's new album is self-titled, seemingly as a way to underline the fact that this is their final release, and perhaps a summing up of their career.  The group formed in British Columbia in 1999, and were off to a solid start with Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie producing a few of their early tracks, and the respected indie label Sub Pop releasing their first EP and full-length album.  Hot Hot Heat started out as a noisy electropunk band.  Over time their sound evolved, with the edges of their music smoothed a bit.  The songs leaned more toward melodic hooks, and the inspiration of late '70s/early '80s new wave was apparent. The Hot Hot Heat album is a concise, tuneful conclusion to their run.