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Hot Hot Heat Album: “Make Up the Breakdown [Bonus Track]”
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Make Up the Breakdown [Bonus Track] |
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Release Date:2003-04-28
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Type:Unknown
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Genre:Rock, Indie Rock, Garage Rock
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Label:Sub Pop
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Explicit Lyrics:Yes
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UPC:4943674041855
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Review - :
Picking up where the {^Knock Knock Knock} EP left off, {^Make Up the Breakdown} completes {$Hot Hot Heat}'s transformation from a purveyor of the noisy synth-{\punk} displayed on the band's debut into a polished, but still edgy, {\pop} group. Where some of their contemporaries delve into '60s {\garage} or '70s {\post-punk}, {$Hot Hot Heat} specializes in re-creating and reinvigorating the {\new wave} of the late '70s and early '80s -- not the overly hairsprayed and eyelinered variety, but the geeky, abrasive {\pop} pioneered by {$Elvis Costello}, {$the Cars}, {$Joe Jackson}, and especially {$XTC}, whose {^Drums & Wires} and {^English Settlement} seem to have been particularly influential on {^Make Up the Breakdown}. The album's shiny but unobtrusive production adds to its retro quality -- it sounds like it's been hiding since 1981 and was just unearthed recently. That only adds to the charm of paranoid {\pop} songs like {&"No, Not Now,"} {&"Bandages,"} and {&"Oh Goddamnit,"} which, with their tense hooks and witty wordplay, come close to matching the greatness of their influences. Fortunately, {$Hot Hot Heat} avoids sounding merely derivative because of the vitality and enthusiasm the band brings to its music -- virtually every track on {^Make Up the Breakdown} bristles with nervous energy and catchy melodies that are entirely the group's own. Indeed, that the album packs so many tightly wound {\pop} songs into just over half an hour is both a blessing and a curse -- on the first few listens, {^Make Up the Breakdown} tends to whiz by in a blur of yelped, {$Andy Partridge-esque} vocals and angular riffs and rhythms. It's not until the final track, {&"Cairo,"} that the members of {$Hot Hot Heat} catch their breath and open up their sound. Based on a pretty, winding piano melody, the song offers a darker, slightly different twist on their style and suggests that they're preparing to make an even bigger leap on their next album than they did on this one. Still, what {$Hot Hot Heat} lacks in diversity is more than made up for in quality -- {^Make Up the Breakdown} is an addictive, densely packed {\pop} gem that ranks among 2002's best albums. [A Japanese version added a bonus track.] ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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