Make Up The Breakdown

Canada, it seems, is the new New York, which last year held the title of Rock ‘n’ Roll Capital of the World. No sooner have we got our ears around Toronto’s magical Hidden Cameras than Hot Hot Heat burst forth from the southern tip of Vancouver Island with a sound that could have been created in the early 1980s.

There’s certainly a touch of the New Wave about Hot Hot Heat, calling to mind the likes of XTC, Ian Dury and even The Clash, while they also have a lot in common with modern retrovists like Radio 4. Apparently the quartet used to rely a lot more on synths than guitars, but the recruitment of the wonderfully named Dante DeCaro on six-string evens up the balance somewhat, with keyboardist Steve Bays taking up the mic for these short, sharp stabs of infectious and off-kilter post-punk pop, with barely time to draw breath.

Bays sounds more English than Canadian on Make Up The Breakdown, a full-on assault on the senses that combines elements of pop, punk, funk and even reggae in a whole that is as comfortable on the dancefloor as the car stereo. Certainly, tracks like ‘Naked In The City Again’, ‘Bandages’ and the uber-catchy ‘Get In Or Get Out’ have a certain toe-tapping, arse-wiggling charm that wouldn’t be out of place alongside indie standards at your local alternative club. The quirky ‘Oh, Goddamnit’ sounds like it could have come from the pen of David Lowery (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven) and that is a massive compliment, while ‘Talk To Me, Dance With Me’ has the catchiest hook this side of a fishing trawler, as Bays insists “You are my only girl/ But you’re not my owner”.

In short, Make Up The Breakdown is a hugely celebratory, joyful noise that’s remarkably fresh despite the fact that any of its 10 tracks sounds like they could have been written 20 years ago.