The sun is out, spinning on its axis
Lead white vapor in the clouds
The first words I heard today after I plugged myself in at the station this morning. Totally apt on a sunny May morning, as was the pummelling, pulverizing music of Hot Snakes.
Guitarist Jon Reis is a true no-bullshit rock and roller, in love with the sacred white-hot-beating-heart flame of the riff and I love his music unreservedly. The late Rick Froberg is a great post-hardcore vocalist, Mario Rubalcaba pounds everything hard but never flat and Gar Wood underpins it all on bass. Hot Snakes were absolutely relentless and righteous.
Now, begin the conclave, lock the doors, let’s get this Audit In Progress!!
Item 1: ‘Braintrust’. Should our intergalactic overlords descend upon us to assess our worth as a species, ‘Braintrust’ will weigh in our favour. The aforementioned pulverizing and pummelling is well to the fore. Hot Snakes size you, the listener, up out their head down and just fucking charge.
Item 2: Song titles. Hot Snakes, like their relatives Drive Like Jehu and Rocket From the Crypt, have a pointed way with a title. ‘Hatchet Job’, ‘This Mystic Decade’, ‘Think About Carbs’, ‘Kreative Kontrol’ and ‘Hair And DNA’ are all positive assets.
Item 3: Have I mentioned the pulverizing, pummelling enough yet? without being monotonous at all, Hot Snakes just let fly at us on Audit In Progress. The guitars are dense, propulsive but nuanced, if you play it primitive enough real subtlety ensues. I cite the conversationally sweary ‘Kreative Kontrol’ here, the piledriving last minute of ‘Hatchet Job’, the unexpected melody ending ‘Hi-Lites’ and the slower reaches of ‘This Mystic Decade’.
Item 4: Rick Froberg. The man whose art wraps Audit In Progress in red and black disquieting cartoons, was an excellent singer for Hot Snakes. Whether belting through the odds on ‘Braintrust’, or in a subtler sadder gear on ‘Lovebirds’*, Mr Froberg delivers. His vocals are mixed down where you have to reach for them, really listen to hear them and its a neat trick because you do and you get rewarded for it.
Item 5: Thirty three at thirty three and a third. Audit In Progress is absolutely bang on at 33 minutes – lean, cocksure and ready to rumble, no fat to trim here.
Item 6: Great song writing. It isn’t all about the performance, gut-thumping though that is. Just check out the hot-rodding ‘This Mystic Decade’ for a primo slice of thoughtful rama-lama-ding-ding-sing**. Trust me, I’m Welsh.
Item 7: I haven’t described their sound yet. Oops. Think of stripped back, riff heavy rock and roll played with the intensity of hardcore harnessed to the service of the melody. It burns bright.
This audit of Audit In Progress is no longer in progress. My findings are that it is a draught of molten white-hot purity from the very heart of rock and roll, revved-up, smart, well-dressed and ready to rumble.
The band are even more than the sum of their considerable parts on this release. John Reis in particular is the absolute powerhouse he always is and his production smarts are also very much on display – he renders every single beat and note with perfect clarity and punch; nothing here is overwhelmed by fuzz or obscured in any way.
If you like yourself buy Audit In Progress. Hell, if you don’t like yourself buy this LP because it will endear you to yourself. Even if you are entirely indifferent to you buy this album, it will sway you to the point where you won’t be able to keep your hands off yourself. True story.
I believe!
Audit In Progress came out when I was skint^ so my LP is a 2018 reissue bought one lunchtime in Probe Records, of course. It is a great sounding pressing, but then when you turn things up loud enough most things are.
1278 Down.
PS: Dig it.
*awesome Jon Lord/Ken Hensley style organ from Gar Wood on this one too, as well as possibly the only guitar solo on the LP.
**as an aside I hadn’t considered it when reviewing my fave LP of 2023 but Hot Snakes way with a tune is woven through Civic Taken By Force.
^kids, eh? I got into Hot Snakes via their Peel Sessions 7″, I was still allowed to buy the occasional one of those.
“No bullshit ” rock n roll. I have a a tape of that stuff and will add this to it. You come through in the clutch again. “Gut thumping, pummeling, pulverizing review by 1537 again!”
Cheers CB. I thought you’d like this one. John Reis has just released an absolutely excellent solo LP under the guise of Swami John Reis – you’d love it!
Thanks. That’s a high 1537 endorsement. I’ll be checking out for sure.
This does indeed sound great, will have to give them a listen. Was vaguely aware of them via the Rocket from the Crypt connection. And The Auditors ” Ballooning with Boop” sounds like a lost classic of wistful, lyrical strings-adorned indie…
It’s a full-on motoring blastothon.
This sounds like some classic punk and I can always go for some of that.
Although I’m at a stage where I’d much rather read about this music than listen to it, there is much value added to my life by your ever-youthful enthusiasm. And I’m so glad that ballooning with Betty Boop is part of your weekly work regimen.
Oh god, all that ballooning with Boop – it gets damnably tedious you know.