HOTR are extremely excited to announce our first international signing.
“Formed in 2014 of two native Germans and one wandering Australian, HEADS. collectively are like-minded individuals, drawing inspiration from the same filthy pools.
With a straight-up, no-frills approach, and influences as diverse as The Jesus Lizard, Shellac and Rowland S. Howard, this trio are much more than the sum of their parts.”
Debut release out in March/April 2015 (AU/NZ).
One of Ballarat’s most successful exports, Epicure, have joined forces with Heart of the Rat Records to re-release their classic album ‘The Goodbye Girl’.
The quintet released Armies Against Me, the 1st single from their sophomore album, in 2003. Arguably Epicure’s most successful and well known track, Armies spent months on the Triple J playlist and was continually amongst the most requested by listeners of the National broadcaster. The song remained in the ARIA top 100 singles for weeks and was voted at #21 in 2003’s Hottest 100 Countdown.
‘The Goodbye Girl’ also featured Life Sentence (also part of 2003’s Hottest 100), So Broken and Self Destruct in Five, which was voted into 2004’s most popular 100 songs on Triple J in 2004.
Frontman & principle songwriter, Juan Alban remembers this time of the band’s career … “It was a pretty magical time… we were doing all the things we grew up dreaming of…”
There is no disputing that “The Goodbye Girl” was a fan favourite. This vinyl will fly out the door so make sure you get in fast and place your order.
HOTR has teamed up with local legends, The Dead Salesmen, to re-release their recorded swan-song, 1998’s much loved and cherished, Amen. Available on vinyl for the first time, this fan-favourite is sure to sell out fast.
This will be a limited edition run of 180g black vinyl (250 made).
HOTR’s latest release will be the new album from ‘Mark With The Sea’.
When it comes to taking huge bounds forward for follow-up albums they don’t come much bigger than ‘When the Blood Runs Dry’ by Mark with the Sea.
If you could imagine a scientist collected a single cell from folk-songwriter, Marc Oswin. He expertly splits it. One half remains the same, continuing to craft gentle, dark narratives, but the other half mutates into a pulsing, spirited 6-headed organism, ejecting a sonic wall, then you’re starting to get an idea of what to expect from this album.
A driving rhythm section carves through a sea of cymbals. A wall of guitars wail in harmony with soaring keys. Vocals assail the senses in surround sound… Then it all turns on an edge, offering a subtle, considered gentleness, sometimes all within the confines of one song.
Although the album is sonically in high-contrast to 2013’s ’13 Years’, one thing stays the same, Oswin delivers on his trademark turn of phrase and jet-black narrative through his distinctly Australian articulation. This is a collection of well-loved and finely-tuned songs. Take them and make them your own.
This will be a limited edition run of 180g transparent red vinyl (250 made).
The Yard Apes return with their first release in 3 years and HOTR couldn’t be happier. The 7″ single ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ has been recorded in analog glory, tape hiss and all. This three track is a dirtier take on their previous recordings and is a must have for aficionados of fuzz, noise and a damn good time.
This will be a limited edition run of red/green vinyl (250 made).
This album (SWHAT – Down in Tango Zulu) was posted to me from Australia. I take great comfort from the fact that there are still bands around prepared to do that. Lets face it, if some-one does that you have already got a soft spot for them, before you have even heard a note. So can you even imagine my utter joy when I played this thing and it hit me dead on the sweet spot between my ears. This band sound wonderfully old school punk – I really can’t tell what a joy it is to be playing the songs for the umpteenth time. I am reminded just how rewarding it is to be a zine ed, when I get treated to experience such talent. One day they might come to the UK, I will do my level best to go to as many of their shows as is humanly possible.
– Neil Duncan
There’s little as thrilling as hearing a new band that bangs out some smoking Punk jams while already having their own sound and style and that elusive X factor that just says, “Listen up mofo.” What’s more SWHAT is a mere duo (on this recording at least) cranking out their thing from the suburbs of marvellous Melbourne, Australia. Dunno if it’s that Aussie connection but opener ‘Down In Tango Zulu’ is a ringer for prime time SAINTS – it could even be Chris Bailey on vocals. Next up ‘Henry (Policy Enforcers)’ lifts some BAD BRAINS P.M.A. and so it continues – great Aussie Punk but twisted somehow – add a bit of TURBONEGRO and you’re closer. Simple fact, when a stellar track like ‘Shake That Spell’ can be followed and obliterated in the wild garage core of ‘Reinsert Me’, it’s fucking impossible to criticise. Closer ‘Don’t Throw Your Anxiety Away’ slows things down to a Grunge lurch and is the perfect finale with dual vocals sounding like Mould and Hart trading bellows during HUSKER DU’s ‘New Day Rising’ era. An easy contender for record of the year – and what’s more this ain’t a self-released CDEP… This is a solid black vinyl 10″ which looks great and sounds perfect. Highly recommended.
– Steve Scanner
Ballarat three-piece SWHAT have worked their instruments into a style of modern punk that gives a nod to their roots and is stripped back from any of the synthesiser, playfulness or pop that characterises many of the contemporary Australian post-punk bands that will be on the layman’s radar. The band’s approach to crafting self-produced album Down In Tango Zulu is just as stripped-back as their sound; they used a reel-to-reel recorder in their home studio. Independent punk spirit at heart!
With eight tracks and a 21-minute total playing time, if you blinked you’d miss it. It’s fast-paced, ‘70s-punk-inspired and high-energy, and with most tracks going for around two minutes the mood keeps changing. The whole album feels like someone recorded the chaos of a manic house show. The title track welcomes a bunch of friends who arrive to an already pumping atmosphere with clinking bottles, high-fives and too many people piled into the living room. Henry (Policy Enforcers) gets deep down and dirty with lots of low range fuzz, low-fi gravelly vocals and steady drumming which is maintained throughout the album.
Party vibes continue in We Will Not Be Tolled which is bouncy mosh-inducing. Lunatic Fringe picks up the pace and becomes frenetic whilst still retaining the aural hallmarks of previous tracks. A fuzz fest of guitar tones on the crunchy end of the spectrum could make all the tracks rather samey but SWHAT have individualised each track by writing distinctive riffs and melodies which adds attention-holding variation. The occasional group harmony adds contrast for your listening pleasure. The party rages on until the last track of the album, Don’t Throw Your Anxiety Away, which provides a ballad-like end to the evening and party guests linger in the house to soak up the vibes of a great night.
Sophie Dunsford
These are songs that remain as free as a bird, bag blowing in the gusty wind style, the linear run of material pulling off many the dreamlike, shiatsu-for-the-soul type moments. ‘Complex Chemistry’ invites splashes of Ry Cooder-esque slide and a jazzy female vocal, ‘Princess, Save Your Breath’ could be a modern-day folk psalm with harmonica and plucking strings kneading the speakers, while closer, ‘Spark Archer’ is one for the lovers. Transcendent stuff.
– Nick Argyriou
Working on your sophomore album can be difficult. For a lot of bands that rush through it, there isn’t the same passion as the first record and it can inevitably be called the sophomore slump. Luckily for the band Matheson, instead of rushing they have been taking their time on their self-produced album called The Word is On The Wire. The results are a very professional sounding record that has an eclectic mix of good if not great songs that are full of emotion. Matheson has some of the live energy you feel with a band like Arcade Fire. It’s this forward momentum that feels like it’s progressing and just building upon more and more momentum. They also have some tunes that are more laid back and rely on the singer’s commanding voice and minimal instrumentation. It’s a good mix of songs that lead you through a gamut of emotions that is very rewarding in the end.
The album opens with one of the highlights on the album “Ghosts.” This is one of those songs that you can tell after the first thirty seconds is going to be good. The blazing guitars, the kinetic drums and the singer’s triumphant voice come together creating a tornado of sounds that is steady and looking towards the future. At the beginning of “Sailors Son” it takes down the energy a couple of notches trading it in for harmony and a melancholy. A little after the two- minute mark the band rocks the hell out. The drums are frantic, the lead guitar is thrashing and the bass is keeping the energy balanced.
There are some indie rock ballads on the album not unlike those that you might hear from a group like Band of Horses. Songs like “Golden Ring” and “We’ve Lost It All” are visceral experiences that could be a tear inducing experience.f you enjoy well-produced unpretentious indie rock that delivers on multiple levels I would suggest giving The Word is On The Wire a listen. Eleven songs strong make it an album worth picking up.
– Ted Rogen
