Following on from The Maybes last year, Liverpool has spun out yet another indie band hailed as one to watch out for. They might not have such a distinctive sound as The Maybes but The Hot Melts have a normality about them that, at times, is almost irresistible. These guys are, essentially, the British Green Day; lots of overdriven guitar with quick and manic drums and even Will Bayliss's vocals seem a little bit Billie Joe-esque.
The album starts with 'Red Lips', the 80s punk rock sounding track was released as a single and is one of the better tracks on the album. Once you hit mid-way on the album, however, you get a sense of de ja vu; tracks such as 'Big Baby' and 'My Sweetness Is Making Me Ill' feel a bit like a trawling through Green Days back-catalogue which starts to undo the promising start 'Red Lips' provided.
Fortunately, the tracks towards the latter of the album break away from this. 'Fun' is reminiscent of the Beach Boys with its background harmonies and '24' heads down an anthemic street. Track nine, 'Happiness Is A Weakness' is reminiscent of something Scottish outfit The Fratellis would put out.
And, alright, it might be a little difficult to distinguish many of The Hot Melts' thirteen tracks from the other rock pop bands already established, but the advantage of this is it makes the album merge into your playlist with ease. The important difference between The Hot Melts and the countless other soundalike bands that try to make it in this genre is that they've at least tried to make sure the quality of the songs have some staying-power and are not just intended to make them some quick cash.
Yes, the similarities between these guys and Green Day (which becomes more and more apparent after each listen) will put people off, but it is likely that they should pick-up a substantial fan base that should see them secure a faily prosperous future in the rock pop arena.
The next test now for the boys is to see how they stand up on the live scene, with a UK tour that gets underway on the day of the album release.
Rating: 3/5