Search - Hot Snakes :: Suicide Invoice

San diego again!!! for music geeks.

t-diggs | Brooklyn, NY USA | 02/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"theres something in the water in san diego. too many good bands for so long have been just ripping up the norms of the rock scene and patchworking it together to make some of the most interesting, intense music on the scene today. quick rundown for you music geeks. it started with bands like DRIVE LIKE JEHU, SWING KIDS, THE LOCUST, HEROIN, and CLICKITAT IKATOWI. chaotic aggresive rock at its best. if youre reading this and dont know these bands, look em up. all have blistering guitar work, mathmatical drumming, and manical passionate vocals. then comes HEAVY VEGETBALE (rob crowe!), THREE MILE PILOT (ABSIV!) and ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT (ex drive like jehu) just more intense unique rock music, bordering on indie, more instrumentation. then BLACK HEART PROCESSION (clickitat + three mile pilot) PINBACK (the best ever! three mile and rob crowe) TRISTEZA (ex swing kids/ locust) and the incredibly beautiful simplicity of the ALBUM LEAF (also james from tristeza/ swing kids/ locust) now comes the HOT SNAKES. YES!!!! back to the days of old, the days of heroin and drive like jehu, but theres something more mature about this new project. HOT SNAKES is the drive like jehu guys doing what they shouldve kept doing. This IS rock music. its dirty, its dense, its introspective, and its angry. theres no heavy metal or chugga-chugga here. heroin and drive like jehus screechec vocals trake a backseat to a more monotonal singing style that some fans will be used to. the guitar interplay is great. dense weaving distorted guitars gallop in and out of thick meaty bass lines with the drum fills to match. While mildy abrasive at times, this is music to get you movin. punk fans rejoice!! youre punk music has been lacking something for years now. this is what its been lacking. strokes, hives, and liars, take note - this is the intensity, the rawness, the sexiness youve been searching for in your vain noodlings. this is rock music at its most stripped down and its sounds amazing. if the unusual guitar lines seem to confusing or chaotic, then just wait, i guarantee you will be thirsting for it after a few listens, and all your blink 182 and sum 41 records will just seem pale in comparison. for fans of this, please check out all the other groups listed above. san diego is making the best music in the country right now. and its not on MTV. do yourself a favor and just read some reviews for the above listed bands, and see if theres not something for you and for anyone else you know. i'd bet you money you'll be a fan, but this is the internet and im just talking to myself. HA!"

Amazon won't let me give it 10 stars.

David McHenry | San Diego, Ca United States | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is worth your money. Don't bother downloading.This album is perfect. Amazing. They don't make albums much better. The reason you should buy this album is so the people in this band will make some money like they deserve, so they don't have to work day jobs and can devote all their time to making more albums so good. "LAX" is one of the most devastating, blast it out of your car with the windows or top down on a hot summer day songs you will ever hear.
This should be what's on heavy rotation on radio and video stations. For my money no better guitar player LIVES than John Reis. Why have guitar magazines basically ignored this living legend? Because they're stupid. And Rick Froberg is amazing at everything he does. This whole band, just, Rules. And this record proves it. Buy, Nancy Boy."

XOX

Sam | st. louis, mo USA | 12/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's face it people, aggression and isolation are pretty commonplace within music today. It's become incredibly difficult to turn on the radio and not hear a hard rockin' band with angst ridden vocals. We have become so accustomed to this sound, that we don't really hear it anymore. In a lot of ways this is bad, but in some ways it's good. Because when something offbeat, brazen, electrifying and just plain good comes along we truly hear it. Sometimes it's the best thing in the world.
This is the case with Hot Snakes sophomore effort, `Suicide Invoice.' Don't get me wrong, Hot Snakes have a hard garage- rock type of sound, but they also have style. John Reis' guitar attacks through every song, giving it the heart and Rick Froberg's vocals howls though every word giving it soul. This is how rock `n' roll should be.
`Suicide Invoice' is more somber and moodier than their debut album, `Automatic Midnight.' Some may even say it's mellower. Tracks like, `Why does it hurt' are about damaged love and how it affects everyone involved. `Unlisted' is a kiss off to society in general, disguised as a pop song. Even the title track `Suicide Invoice' is slightly more vulnerable and melodic than past anthems. When Rick proclaims, ` When I dream, I keep my promises to you. I really do' it seems so exposed that you almost want to believe him.
There are several songs reminiscent of the bands raw, biting sound heard on `Automatic Midnight.' `Gar forgets his insulin' and `I hate the kids' have the rage filled, fist clenched tone that the band has become infamous for. `Who died' is a diatribe about how no one notices you're gone and how they're glad it wasn't them. Also, there are some charming tunes about the wonders of aerodynamics and the joy of paperwork. `Paperwork' is about how everyone has something to gain off paperwork except for you.
Hot snakes are a rock band in every sense of the word. They punch you in the stomach, then pick you up and dust you off for more. `Automatic Midnight' scratches the surface and shows what this band is capable of. On `Suicide Invoice' this band digs much deeper and shows they are more than awesome, booming guitar chords. Hot Snakes show a wide range of emotional grandstanding, everything from love, hate, to indifference. Rock bands of the world take note, there's more to the equation than aggression and isolation. Hot Snakes have seemed to discover the other variables and they aren't sharing."