October 11, 2023 - Today, Hotline TNT — the New York based project fronted by Will Anderson — unveils their new single/video, “Out of Town,” from their forthcoming album, Cartwheel, out November 3rd on Third Man Records which can be streamed below. After being previewed throughout the week via a PC “Kaxtyn” game hosted on Anderson’s online hub, assnup.com, “Out of Town” is now widely available in its straightforward, stomp-along glory. “Out of Town” is a perfectly rendered rush of sweet possibility and potential regret, exploring infatuation and the resulting isolation as though Anderson were watching a beautiful ship sail away, as he holds the ticket he worked hard to afford.

“Out Of Town” follows lead single “I Thought You’d Change” — praised by Paste as “an absolute doozy of shoegaze-inspired brilliance about the give-and-gos of a romance that’s cascading toward the wayside” — as well as “Protocol,” of which The FADER hailed: “They’ve never sounded better than on ‘Protocol.’”Of “Out of Town,” Anderson adds: “These days most people wouldn’t have the foolishness to start a song by singing the words ‘baby girl’ but I wanted to channel my Minnesotan roots and try it out, Paul Westerberg style. Matter of fact I think his influence is all over this tune, we had to betray the Bob Mould guidance one of these days and see how the other half lives. This one’s about losing someone you’re excited about before you even realized you had strong feelings about ‘em.” Check it out below.

I just returned from Riot Fest and one of the highlights of the weekend was witnessing Hotline TNT play their brand of 90s inspired noise pop at a small club after show. The guitars were loud and distorted in the best possible ways, and after hearing their live performance and listening to their two new singles "Protocol" and "I Thought You'd Change" on repeat, I can confidently say that this is an album people are going to want to hear. If you're a fan of all things 90s inspired shoegaze and noise pop, with walls of guitars and big melodies, don't sleep on this. There's been a big revival of bands combining elements of 90s shoegaze, punk, grunge, noise-pop, hardcore and emo over the past few years, so if you like that kind of thing, these guys do it right. You can also check out the press release below, stream the new singles from the forthcoming LP, and pre-order the new album. This should be a good one, and that's an understatement!

RIYL: Milly, Toner, Ovlov, Hum, Nothing

Upon release of the initial singles, I was extremely compelled to hear the rest of Hotline TNT's "Cartwheel," their debut on Third Man Records and third official release as a band. My feelings on "Cartwheel" are varied; while "Cartwheel" is poised to have lasting power, leaving a memorable impact that lingers even after the final notes fade away, the opening two tracks "Protocol" and "I Thought You'd Change" emerge as clear standouts. These songs are breathtaking, perhaps some of the strongest albums to be released in 2023 in the indie / shoegaze arena; the thoughtful lyrics meld beautifully with the guitar leads.

As the album continues, it blends together elements of shoegaze, fuzzy stoner rock, and the sound of euphoria in sweaty basement shows. Noisy guitars swirl over ambient and often buried vocals, where the listener yearns for a hook and is occasionally satisfied; songs like "BMX" and "Maxine" come to mind. Overall, the songs are solid and generally compelling, but the songs tend to fuzz together a bit; there's very little range or change in dynamics from one track to another.

I can imagine "Cartwheel" will be spinning for a few weeks to come, but it's the record you'll put on in the background on crisp wintry mornings, not the one you'll be blasting and singing along to or necessarily talking about in weeks to come.