SpideWriter

This article was first published on Grapevine Live! 1st May 2023 A Breath of Fresh South Coast Air from Hot Wax Hot Wax carry a creative energy that the tedium of battling through winters in English coastal towns often provokes. Second on the bill at Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom on the Spring Bank Holiday, Hot Wax from Hastings, turn in an excellent short set. Casting aside traditional song structures, in the way Patti Smith, Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey brought poetry into art rock, Hot Wax use pace and variation of tone, pitch and rhythm to net listeners. Choruses are used sparingly, but when launched, these are delivered with the fury of winter breakers smashing onto the shingle shore. I felt myself step back a little, not wanting to be pulled off shore by the emotional backwash, as the power surged and fell back into another pulsing bass line, a line hung with fascinating vocal lures to keep me hooked. Hot Wax have the edge like the jagged teeth of a double-handed timber saw. The sharp gui...

The Pearl Harts: Voodoo Daddy's Showroom - June 2023 This article was first published on the Grapevine Live Website, 1st June 2023 by Chris Perry | Jun 1, 2023 | Music, Reviews Presaged by a (insert your own collective noun here) of photographers,  The Pearl Harts  are attracting a lot of media attention right now. At one point, early in the evening, the paying punters only just matched the number of paparazzi present. I was intrigued to hear what so many lensmen had come to capture, (I saw no lenswomen). I pondered on the name. Pearl, (a precious, rarely-formed jewel, found in oysters) and Harts, (females of the deer species, an animal kept for hunting for sport and venison, idealised as strong and free-spirited), which is an aural pun on ‘hearts’, suggesting a precious sensitivity too; a poetic and interesting band name. Promising. Are the Pearl Harts the future of 21st Century rock? How far can duos take rock music?  Listen to local band  Whiskey  Lover Bass ...