“Are you ready for this? Of course, you are!” offers The Hot Damn! singer/guitarist Gill Montgomery. And she’s hit the nail on the head because the band have been promising this album for a while.
As far back as November 2020, they were a band of the day on these pages, and now the debut full-length is here.
It’s worth the wait.
“Fizz Buzz Crash” is a sugar rush, power pop to perfection. Those of us who got into this stuff with Silver Sun in the mid-’90s will find much to enjoy here.
And that’s true of all of it. “Dance Around” shows why they were the perfect support for Terrorvision in the spring. It’s as irresistible as a Grab Bag of Walkers Worcestershire Sauce (I don’t have many vices, sorry).
Because they’ve all been in other bands (Montgomery and drummer Josie O’Toole in The Amorrettes and Tequila Mockingbyrds for starters), this sounds way more fully fledged than debut albums might. Bassist Laurie Buchanan (Aaron Buchanan and The Cult Classics) anchors down “Jukebox On The Radio,” and when they nail it just right, they’re unstoppable.
“I Didn’t Like You Anyway” is perfect for them, all bubblegum choruses, but dig deeper, and there’s “don’t fuck with me, I’ll see ya later” in a way that suggests that if you take one on, you best be ready for all four.
There’s a punk edge to them—”Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!” proves it—and anyone who loved Honeycrack needs to get straight to “Going Down.”
As much as anything, it needs to be said that THD! are just damn good. “Automatic” takes in Thin Lizzy’s twin guitar and lip curl, and when I saw them play in the spring, then “Live Laugh Love” seemed to be their starting point.
Let’s be honest, though, there’s just a suspicion that these ladies know where the trouble is at, and they can wrap “About Last Night” up with as many harmonies as they like; it’s still “Look What The Cat Dragged In” repackaged.
The glam rock, Mott The Hoople-type stomper “Loud And Clear” has a fabulous melody, and “Can You Hear Me Now?” was a single for a reason. To hear it once is to have it lodged.
They finished with a ballad, “Sticky Clubs,” and even the change of vibe suits them.
Frankly, “Dancing On The Milky Way” basically says, “Hi, we’re here, and we intend to take over.” It is nothing short of a day-glo, neon-colored kick up the arse.
Rating: 8.5/10
