Free Throw – Dingwalls

Good honest screaming draws a serious crowd to the corner of the canal to check out Free Throw and their charming skate nostalgia blended with a bottle throwing attitude. ‘Pallet Town’ claws for a connection through hazy riffs and evaporated memories of past pits and we paste the quieter contemplative moments with joyful claps and heartfelt callbacks. New song ‘Mike Nolan’s Long Weekend’ clicks heartfelt and vulnerable in its warmth, and their rumbling bright survivorship burns away our mid-afternoon haze.

Modern Life is War – Underworld

From one basement to another, Modern Life Is War prove there’s a darkness in the centre of town, their pounding energy like a runaway tank through the crowded Underworld. With juggernaut drumming and a powerhouse vocal performance from Jeffrey Eaton, they’re mixing the hardcore past and present into a foreboding sound. When he screams we’re going down it feels like a promise not a threat and their occasional moments of smoothness feel like a gathering storm. All in, they’re hypnotic: a cathartic harbinger of the evening to come.

The Dirty Nil – Roundhouse

All the way from Ontario to the industrial Roundhouse, The Dirty Nil’s stripped back style drags those who didn’t get into A Wilhelm Scream’s pub set through the garage squat past and into our renegade future. They’re Weezer’s more authentic cousins, with freedom-loving gang vocals and when they crank out ‘Rock n Roll Band’ we’re treated to a tale of twang and desperation. ‘That Don’t Mean It Won’t Sting’ shows off their back to basics attitude, but we really don’t need much more from these guys: we’ve already got an unrefined sweetness and a whole lot of rough-around-the-edges heart. ‘Ride or Die’ springs through evocative romance, leaving us with a beautifully abstract sense of hope.

The Hotelier – Roundhouse

As Christian Holden shouts out the first line of ‘An Introduction to the Album’ he’s greeted with a  chorus of raised fists. It’s an unexpected lovely track live, full of the pain of daybreak: each line murmured in return, the headbangs flowing on the drop. Three guitars are the catalyst for an avalanche of emotion as they slam their way through a set at today’s “incredibly sad festival”, with ‘The Scope Of All This Rebuilding’ carrying the energy of the moment when when you just have to smile through the aftermath of a tragedy. Scaling peaks of distortion laden shape beauty, The Hotelier have the chest-opening quality that we’re seeking today, rich with grit and tenderness.

Comeback Kid – Roundhouse

The first pit of the evening cracks open as Comeback Kid raise the temperature with ‘False Idols Fall’. Ferocious, intense and an absolute jolt of power, they spit unity and irresistible punk aggravation. Their “punk rock festival singalong shit” lights the fire under the pit while frontman Andrew Neufeld stalks back and forth like a caffeinated tiger, stirring the pit fervour even further. He bounces foot to foot like a boxer, bringing the fighting spirit to us through turbo boosted old school hardcore and we’re giving it our all through their pneumatic bass of and the carnage it brings. They fill the arena with their blender of a hardcore sound as we scream back the chorus to ‘Wake The Dead’, smashing a crater of an impression into our memories.

Joyce Manor – Roundhouse

At the other end of the spectrum from Comeback Kid, Joyce Manor serve as a poppier respite to the evening. ‘NBTSA’ smashes through with scratched solos and a lighter vibrancy, and the way their outsider chords strike into the crowd speaks of a wonderful transcontinental connection on ‘Beach Community’. There’s a crush at the front but the waves of their complicated honesty stretch through to each of us. Each song feels devastatingly brief, each teenage tripped line a testament to flash of an idea. Whether it’s wanting some backyard biro artwork on ‘Tattoo’ or the moment you’re ready to leave your crush behind on ‘Victoria’. Joyce Manor’s upbeat realistic snapshots are a thing of absolute joy.

Spanish Love Songs – Roundhouse

‘Losers’ cements Spanish Love Songs as not only fan favourites of today but also as more than we ever realised. Today’s set exposes their raw edges as they’ve eschewed polish and synth in favour of playing with the hardcore end of their sound. A yelp and a growl lurk at the edges of ‘Clean Up Crew,’ with a solemn churchlike pause to appreciate each lyric before the crowd surfers remind us of the power of the human spirit. ‘Generation Lost’ switches between double speed and slow motion, playing with our emotions before we’re smashed by ‘Lifers’, a song whose petals open like gruff enlightenment. Between tough singalongs that twist into a worshipful bridge, and more optimistic notes that make us jump away our fears, Spanish Love Songs serve as a beacon of resilience when the night gets too dark.

Hot Water Music – Roundhouse

Hot Water Music have evolved to become the finest version of themselves, to the point that we’re too shellshocked to dance until halfway through their set. Somehow ‘Drag My Body’ has become more desperate and bare, any free sonic space filled with Chuck Ragan’s monumental roar, but that’s not to discount Chris Wollard’s vicious vocal achievement on ‘Menace’ in the least. ‘Killing Time’ smashes onstage, its autumnal harmonics as road worn and lurid as a tour flyer. They’re still flying their flag resolutely, and slowly a pit coalesces by ‘A Flight And A Crash’ as they stomp through regret and blues and out the other side.

“It feels like we all made it to the end of a punk rock scavenger hunt today,” jokes Wollard, and maybe it’s that sense of victory that we’re absorbing with each bass burst. Their new songs like ‘Fences’ and ‘After The Impossible’ are just as brittle and deep as all the rest of their back catalogue, haunting and gripping as they lead us through chanted landscapes. ‘Remedy’ explodes, our tired bodies shaken awake by the drama and riffs and layers of hard won shout. Dave Hause jumps in on guest vocals for ‘Trusty Chords’ as we choir it back to him, the world suddenly glowing golden at the combination of two resolutely independent vocalists joining forces on one of our favourite songs. 

As we stumble out, somewhat broken from a full day of slamming, we’re forced to contemplate the ‘Common Thread’ uniting the day. The sunlight of surviving through hardship permeates the day, as does a resounding sense of forging your own path through the frequently harsh nature of modern existence. Perhaps we, who spend the day running up and down Camden High Street, braving the queues and fuelling ourselves with plastic glasses of post-mix Coke, were the fabric that drew the day together before the tour rumbles on to the next town lucky enough to be treated to a day of magnificent punk. 

Kate Allvey

One thing that Hot Water Music have learned over the years is that they get by with a little help from their friends, and their many celebrity mates add more than a few unexpected twists to Ragan and Co’s sound. Dallas Green – AKA City and Colour, AKA Mr Alexisonfire – takes the lead on ‘After the Impossible’, tapping into Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan’s most epic impulses to produce a track that’s simultaneously deep and soaring. Thrice’s cameo on ‘Fences’ give you more than enough “whoah” and chunky bass to satisfy all your expectations of a Hot Water Music release, and Calling Hours’ appearance on ‘Wildfire’ adds a much needed bite.

Here’s some more good news; if you had a wholesome collaboration between Hot Water Music and ska-punk’s most co-ordinated and fiery band on your musical predictions for this year, then you can cross it off. The Interrupters play it very straight in their guest slot on ‘Much Love’, sacrificing their desire to shout “pick it up” to create a stunning sunrise of a track, rich in harmony and friendship, that almost feels spiritual in its sincerity. It’s not what you’d expect from either band, much less the outcome of their teamwork, and it’s all the more refreshing for that.

Even their pure band tracks without their buddies, Hot Water Music still shine. Lead single ‘Side Of The Road’ serves up that mixture of struggle, grit and bass that we’ve always loved about the band, and their continued policy of sharing lead vocal duties just pushes the theme of fraternal solidarity in the face of adversity even closer to the forefront of their sound. Hot Water Music aren’t young men any more, having dealt with their share of adversity along the road, and ‘Burn Forever’ deals with the reality of processing grief. It’s a pleasantly understated track, almost matter-of-fact in how it addresses loss, that keeps the rising hardcore anthem tone as a priority. 

The emotional honesty which has always characterised their music is as strong as ever on ‘Vows’. ‘Menace’, their song about coping with anger, is lyrically open and pleasantly straightforward. It’s this refreshingly direct quality which has always made Hot Water Music winners. Sure, some bands might offer complex and poetic musical puzzles to make a point about their feelings, and that’s definitely fun, but that’s not what attracts us to Hot Water Music. They’re the big brothers we wish we had, their words full of no-nonsense advice and lessons learned from the road. As we’ve grown, they’ve held onto this position as ever-so-slightly wiser and cooler than we are and let their sound progress while they maintain this status. 

This could easily be the last Hot Water Music album. After all, they’ve split up twice before in 1998 and 2006. If ‘Vows’ does prove to be their swan song, then this album is a deeply comforting statement to finish on that grinds despair with hope then scatters the resulting powder on the next generation of insecure hardcore kids. Of course, all signs point to this not being their final album. Ragan is balancing his role as professional mountain man and punk rock prophet with his tenure in Hot Water Music, all five members seem to be getting on very well together and they’ve got a European tour booked for this autumn. Instead, let’s choose to see ‘Vows’ as a moment of pause that everyone’s favourite Floridians have taken to take stock of their lives. It’s a record rich in guitar joy and the power of being true to yourself, and another solid chapter in the Hot Water Music saga. 

KATE ALLVEY

An understated hip-hop mixtape sets an enjoyable but deceptively relaxed tone for a band who, despite their advancing years, rarely come of the gate with anything less than all humbuckers blazing, and as they spark things off with the riot-inducing ‘Remedy’, it’s clear that tonight will be no different.

Bassist Jason Black stalks the centre of the stage like a lion guarding a fresh kill, laying the thick bedrock of the band’s sound. He is flanked on either side by the interweaving guitars and vocals of the inimitable powerhouse that is Chuck Ragan, and Flatliners frontman Chris Cresswell, a touring partner only since 2020 and permanent writing member since 2021, but clearly a key part of the band’s evolving sound. Founding member Chris Wollard doesn’t tour with the band anymore, and his absence is felt, but Cresswell is more than just an avatar here, liberally drizzling his signature howl over some older songs and introducing a new energy into tour-hardened material.

The setlist doesn’t quite cover the full four corners of the band’s recorded output, but nine of their ten studio albums so far are represented, reaching as far back as 1997’s ‘Fuel for the Hate Game’. ‘Turnstile’ in particular is such a good song that a band named themselves after it. In a wholesome full-circle moment, the Turnstile-featuring new album ‘Vows’ appears to be just around the corner, and three new songs get live debuts this evening. This tour may be a 30^th anniversary celebration, but it’s clear that one eye always remains on the next project.

For well over an hour, the band rattle through an arsenal of up-tempo punk-adjacent bangers, showcasing the furious energy of ‘A Flight and a Crash’ alongside massive melodic peaks like ‘Wayfarer’ and ‘Drag My Body’, as well as some of their more abrasive earlier work like ‘Rooftops’ and ‘Manual’. There’s a noticeable but subtle variety among the distorted guitars and gruff vocals, with subject matter rooted in earthbound balladry. This might be the first night of the tour, but it feels like things have quickly clicked into place.

The aforementioned ‘Remedy’ and an equally raucous ‘Trusty Chords’ bookend the night, both fan favourite cuts from 2002 record ‘Caution’, a much-loved entry in their canon and probably their commercial peak to boot.

Joking aside, and ignoring two short spells spent on hiatus, a three-decade stint in this industry is an impressive feat, and Hot Water Music have evolved into veterans of the scene. Older, wiser, hairier and maybe a little less rough around the edges, but every bit as vital and authentic as they were when they set out.

ROB DAND

For the Gainesville veterans, passing over this milestone makes them relative pups when placed against the likes of Bad Religion (40th anniversary in 2020) and Social Distortion (45th anniversary in 2023), but it is a career that has taken its toll. Guitarist Chris Wollard has taken a step back from touring since 2017 in order to prioritise his health, his shoes filled by The Flatliners’ frontman Chris Creswell.

While Wollard is a notable absence on stage, his influence and signature vocals penetrate throughout the band’s ninth album ‘Feel The Void’ – their first LP in five years. It marks the first studio work with Cresswell as a full-time member of the band – he contributed back-up vocals to the 2019 EP ‘Shake Up The Shadows’ – and, even after over 25 years as a band, Hot Water Music have still got it.

‘Feel The Void’ will give that gut punch of nostalgia for long-time fans with the band reuniting with producer Brian McTernan who helped craft the sound of ‘A Flight and a Crash’, 2002’s ‘Caution’ and 2004’s ‘The New What Next’. For newer fans, they’ll be introduced to the raspy lyrics of Wollard and Chuck Ragan, and the raw emotion that bleeds through every song.

Ragan describes the record as one of perseverance, defiance and hope, and this sentiment permeates through so many of the tracks. The sultry, slow-pulse of ‘Ride High’ is devastatingly heartbreaking while ‘Hearts Stay Full’ is the typical anthemic track Hot Water Music have as their calling card. Ragan and Wollard’s vocals intertwine effortlessly, each one carrying that undercurrent of pain.

A true highlight of the record is ‘Habitual’, a track in which Ragan tackles the grief and struggle of relatives and friends battling cancer. In what he describes as one of the most personal songs he’s written in years, he speaks of the desire to keep fighting even when faced with one of the toughest things any person can endure. It’s delivered in defiant screams as Ragan delivers the opening line of the chorus “I hope you die” – in reference to the cancer – providing an intensely powerful moment in the record.

There are, of course, classic Hot Water Music moments such as the skate punk-esque ‘Collect Your Things and Run’, the grooving ‘Newtown Scraper’ and the straight-up thrash of ‘Scratch On’. Cresswell even takes the lead vocals on ‘Turn The Dial’ which provides another welcoming voice on the record.

The anniversaries may have passed and, yes, we’re all feeling a little old that all our favourite bands are celebrating these kinds of milestones, but if they keep on cranking out records like ‘Feel The Void’, we can take that.

TOM WALSH

This will be a part of Hot Water Music’s wider European tour. Last year they released their eighth album ‘Light It Up’ on Rise Records.

As for the supports; the latest record from Tim Barry is the album ‘High On 95’ on Chunksaah Records, whilst for The Flatliners it’s their fifth LP ‘Inviting Light’ on Rise Records. Both were released last year.

The track is taken from his latest album ‘High On 45’, which was released last month via Chunksaah Records.

Barry will also be supporting Hot Water Music at their headline show at the Electric Ballroom in London on the 25th April 2018.

The full statement is below:

Back in September Hot Water Music released their eighth album ‘Light It Up’ on Rise Records. They will be playing an exclusive UK headline show at the Electric Ballroom in London on the 25th April 2018.

The band have also confirmed that Tim Barry will be joining them as main support for the show. Barry’s latest album is ‘High On 95’, which he released through Chunsaah Records in September.

This will be their first UK show since 2012. It is a part of a European tour in support of their eighth album, ‘Light It Up’, which was released last month on Rise Records. Tickets for the show will be available this Friday 13th October and can be purchased here.

“The most exciting part about this record for us was self-producing and being in control from start to finish,” the band said about ‘Light It Up’. “We haven’t made a record this way since Fuel For the Hate Game. As frightening as it was to not have the safety net and sounding board of a producer, it was just as liberating to make a record that is 100% Hot Water Music, scars and all.”

‘Light It Up’ is set for release on the 15th September and available to pre-order now via Rise Records.

It is featured on the Gainesville punks’ upcoming eighth album, ‘Light It Up’, which will be released on the 15th September via Rise Records.