>>PREVIEW
HOT LITTLE ROCKET
Saturday, June 23
Canyon Meadows Community Centre
Saturday, June 23
Marquee Room
Friday, June 29
MacEwan Hall
If you want something good, you have to be willing to wait. In the case of Hot Little Rocket’s nine-year career, that has always been the case. Whether it was revamping the original lineup from a female-fronted pop five-piece to the sleeker post-punk outfit we know today, or cobbling together albums during late night recording sessions, getting things right at the expense of time has always been worth it.
In the case of their new album, How to Lose Everything, this is doubly true. More than a year ago, these local heroes were scraping together the cash they needed to head to Chicago to record their fourth album with a hero of their own. After spending the better part of the ’90s listening to albums recorded by legendary engineer Steve Albini, Hot Little Rocket were enlisting his help.
"He’s kind of a nut in a lot of ways," explains the band’s energetic front man Andrew Wedderburn. "He is interested in the way sound-waves travel and reflect, and his whole life is dedicated to reproducing those sound-waves as accurately as possible."
Recorded live off the floor, How to Lose Everything is not only the most immediate recording of Hot Little Rocket’s career, it’s also the one, in Wedderburn’s mind, that best represents the band’s live sound. "When I listen to the album all the way through it sounds like a take that a band played," he says. "It feels like the band is excited playing it and it feels like the band is playing in the next room. The energy of it is the thing that I always wanted."
With massive guitars, a jaw-dropping stereo spread and surprisingly effective dry vocal treatment, the album sounds fantastic. From the itchy beat and singalong of album opener "Like Killers," through the streamlined redux of crowd favourite "Let’s Play in Traffic" to the lighter-waving genius of album closer "It Gets Dark," How to Lose Everything is the sound of a great band graduating to the big leagues with finesse and commitment. And while Albini helped focus the band’s intentions in the studio, the recording just accentuates elements that have always been there.
At the core of the album is near flawless songwriting. A flashback to Hot Little Rocket’s debut EP Laika shows a band boldy establishing its sound. Wedderburn’s angry all-ages persona met head on with guitarist Aaron Smelski’s Brit-pop sensibilities. While their collision had all the propulsive power that the band’s name suggests, its evolution is even more impressive.
"When we started, (Smelski) was surprised by the approach I wanted to take," says Wedderburn, "I was making him listen to all this angry punk rock. He got rid of all the pedals. He played clean. And over the years he started adding the pedals back."
Coming from opposite ends of the songwriting spectrum made for interesting dynamics. While Wedderburn was cranking out barely tuned riffs with a gnarled hand around the fretboard, Smelski could be counted on for exquisite, almost delicate, lead lines. Now they’re almost meeting in the middle. Smelski is embracing noise more than ever and Wedderburn has honed his own chops.
"I’ve learned more of what I can and cannot do. When you stick to what you can do you get better at it," he says. "I think it sounds better when you have two guitar players playing what’s right and what they can do well."
But the evolution isn’t merely musical. Wedderburn has also grown as a lyricist. In the past, his resume was filled with oblique phrases and cryptic wordplay. Now, proving he is more than just a guitar-slinging poet, Wedderburn has published his first novel, The Milk Chicken Bomb, which has influenced his songwriting. Trading in centrifuges and transmogrifiers for unassumingly brilliant storytelling, Wedderburn’s lyrics are less overtly clever, but infinitely more satisfying.
"I’ve tried, over the years, to get a little more direct," says Wedderburn. "It’s been great getting the compliments over the years and people tell me that they really like the lyrics, but it’s always, like, ‘you must have an English degree’ or ‘you made me reach for my thesaurus,’ and I’m not crazy about that kind of stuff when I hear it.
"I’m always looking back on what I’ve done and thinking am I just being clever? Does that mean anything? Is that going to make somebody stop in a club on a bus with their headphones on and take a trip somewhere?"
The answer very simply is yes. It doesn’t matter if it’s the paint-peeling intensity of "Trouble" or unrelenting pop hook of "Sleep Today," Hot Little Rocket will take listeners on a journey, if they are willing to keep up. More technically adept and more comfortable in their own skin than ever, they’re able to explore new territory without sacrificing their identity. In learning How to Lose Everything, they discovered something else about making music – you can’t be afraid to take chances. According to Wedderburn, the risk is almost always worth it.
"What’s the worst that could happen. (That) was my tactic from the get go," he says. "You find out really fast, (personally), that the worst thing that could happen could be pretty bad. "As far as a rock band, the worst thing that can happen could be really spectacular." |
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