The Hot Squeezers is an indie rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Band leader Craig Labor wrote these songs during the quarantine and then “…managed to find a handful of degenerates to take this music to the stage; Fall east coast tour is being booked.” It’s unclear whether Labor (who goes by the stage name Glitteris) recorded all these tracks by himself or with the band, as almost nobody else is credited, but he says the songs were recorded in the order they were written.
The Hot Squeezers’ music is predominately influenced by ’60s girl pop and ’70s power pop, and Labor specifically cites Smile by The Beach Boys, Ween, The Kinks, Sweet, Buddy Holly, Stereolab, The Flaming Lips and T. Rex as avatars. Recording, mixing and mastering took place at Dum-Dum Studios in Nashville using Reaper. I was totally taken aback when I first opened the group’s Bandcamp page, as the cover shows a guy who looks just like Kurt Cobain (though a bit heavier) lying on a deflated blood-spattered raft, and the first song is titled “All Of Our Heroes Are Dead.” Based on this, I was expecting an album of songs that paid tribute to Nirvana, but thankfully they’re nothing of the sort. The opening song is a more general lament about the decline in musical quality over the years: “There ain't no punk rock music no more / There ain't no modern pop music that makes you wanna hit the floor / Even rock and roll doesn't rock and roll no more / All of our heroes are dead.” The sound is trebly, chunky roots rock with a vague country feel, not surprising when you consider this came out of Nashville. Labor’s vocals are untrained but full of spit and vinegar, exactly what these songs call for. “I Don’t Want to Die Young” immediately recalls “Vege-tables” from Brian Wilson’s Smile, and was written after a doctor told Labor that he was going to die if he didn’t change his diet. The lyrics, descending harmonies and offbeat percussion totally channels The Beach Boys, again with a bit of country flavoring. “Puppy Time” and “Harry” were both inspired by the dog Labor and his girlfriend got a week after Labor’s grim diagnosis. The Buddy Holly influence here is quite strong with bits of glam rockers Sweet thrown in for good measure. “Break The Rules” has a Strokes energy with especially fun, thump-y drums and killer guitar breaks. Love the ending, which sounds like we’re being ushered onto a UFO examination table. “I Hear A New World” is definitely a new sound for this collection: a swirling miasma of chiming guitars and spacey keyboards (synths are credited to Mike Brown and organ to Zach Driscoll). “Everything Will Be Alright” starts out very much like “New World” but kicks into joyous pop rock with garlands of harmony vocals and sweet guitar figures. “Make You Mine” has a Johnny Cash chugging train beat on the snare and country-sounding lead guitar figures, with yet more of Labor’s fine vocal tracks. I was expecting “It’s OK To Be Gay” to somewhat follow the footsteps of the Tom Robinson anthem “Glad To Be Gay” but this one starts out like Motown and resolves into a smart rock sing-along. The lyrics have the sincerity of a children’s book: “There's no need to run, no need to hide / So don't live your life in shame / There's no shame in wanting to be true to yourself at all… so come out of the closet now!” The next track “Love Ain’t Enough” deals with the travails of hetero relationships in the same straightforward manner. “Had a fiancé, we were getting married / but then I fucked it up / then a close friend caught her on the rebound / I wonder if they're happy now.” This one has an upbeat Kink’s vibe, despite the somewhat defeated sentiments. “I Don’t Like It Anymore” is a Knack-like rocker with simple and insistent riffing and a Robert Plant-inspired vocal. “I’ve Lost My Head Over You” is a weird closing collage with creepy sampled voices and a classical melody I can’t quite place. Based on the cover and Labor’s notes, I was expecting something more dark and depressing, but with a few exceptions these songs actually lifted my spirits and got me moving. I see great things ahead for Labor and his band!
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