Hot Seconds @ Mercury Lounge, Fri Jan 9th (Event Over)

Hot Seconds are a Brooklyn, NY-based 5-piece indie rock outfit that plays fuzzed out, Brit-infused indie rock with catchy hooks that are both danceable and memorable. For fans of Kasabian, Oasis, Charlatans, Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Doves, and all things Manchester.

CD Baby Editors' Pick!!

Manchester via Brooklyn? Not nearly as oddball as it sounds. In fact, once you strap on the headphones and let this take you over, you'll slip right into it, probably wondering how songs as uncannily accessible as these can sound so today and so 1989 (in the best way), all at once. These aren't dark stabs at reinvigorating an imagined Charlatans b-side (though the Charlatans comparison isn't far off), and they're not tributary one-offs specifically intended to remind of us a time when popular music was great (though they do invoke a bit of that). This is a new entity, one that wisely embraces all the best parts of something we should have never let go in the first place. With his UK roots pinned to his shirt, singer/songwriter James Love carefully injects that distinct feel into melody-heavy tracks that certainly wouldn't sound out of place in NY either. The band has found a balance, tapping into the best parts of both these influences and creating songs that are familiar in mood and execution, but starkly new in content and construction. So don't scream "Madchester!" Nobody wants that. But if these tracks take you back there for a second, don't worry, but don't get lost. You're here, in the now. And you'll be glad that this album is with you.