hotplug is a four-piece indie pop band based in Sacramento, California. They’re a group of young guys who are living the dream: lifelong friends who live in the same house, write songs together and record in the garage. They see this EP as an experiment to see how much they’ve grown since moving in together a year ago, the motivation being to “create some higher quality music, and seeing how far we can push ourselves with our own abilities.” Aside from indie pop, they also identify as traditional rock, funk and electronic. “We like to think of this EP as a sampler of the creative ideas we have.”
The band members are Anthony Juarez, Jamey Shidler, Luke McClain and Metteo Delucchi. All recording took place in their home garage using a Focusrite Scarlett interface into the Studio One DAW. Mixing and mastering was by Alex Kaplow. “Krystal Beth” (great pun!) seems to start already in progress. It’s a funky pop rock tune with lots of vocal tracks that don’t necessarily follow the background, resulting in a cool ’60s psychedelic sound. The chunky rhythm guitars about halfway through really move the song forward. “Show Me (CT)” continues the same type of arrangement but feels more like an actual folk rock single with tender acoustic guitars and engaging vocals which feel unprocessed and realistic. The hard rock chorus nails the tune right when it’s needed. What I like about these guys is that they push themselves just to the edge of dissonance but never seem to go over. “Cool With What She Does” is a struttin’ rock tune that reminded me of Joe Jackson, both lyrically and musically. “If I get a body close to me / I hope I don’t pretend, don’t pretend that it is she / how I’ve come to know what loneliness can be / I hope I don’t pretend, don’t pretend that she’s with me.” hotplug always writes lots of lyrics and many of them are sung without any discernible pauses for breath! “Bad Midnight” appears to start with a demo, then kicks in with the real song (I love that trick!) This is a short tune with dropped beats between verses and cheesy synth sounds. It’s fun but not quite as developed as the others. “Please Hold” presents the next song as tinny telephone “hold music.” It’s a very funny idea but might have been better as a short intro to a “real” song, like the previous track. “How Does It Feel” ends the collection with a more traditional hotplug song with lush vocals, chiming indie pop guitars and spacey synths. Going forward, I might suggest that the hotplug guys spend a little more time sequencing their tracks for greater listener enjoyment; but as a first “official” release, they not only show tons of promise, but have delivered an album they can stand behind proudly right now.
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