Hot Water Music
“Caution”
(Epitaph)
Ever have to wake up early in the morning so you decide to go to bed before you normally would but you just can’t fall asleep? You know how you’re just laying there, tossing and turning and you’ve got this uneasy malaise about you? That’s how “Caution” will make you feel. The music is as edgy as it is immediate and honest. Hot Water Music is neither punk nor emo nor hardcore, yet their sound encompasses all of these elements and “Caution” is their most complete offering to date. Tracks like “The Sense” elevate HWM’s throbbing anxiousness to a near Jets to Brazil level, blurring tempos and melodies into a swirling mass of songs. “Alright For Now” and “Wayfarer” incorporate the rawness of vocalist Chuck Ragan’s wails into an instrument all its own, a technique I’m sure less talented acts would love to emulate if only they had the means. As you’d expect from Epitaph, the production value is first-rate, with excellent help from Brian McTiernan. Fans of HWM’s last album, “A Flight and a Crash”, will undoubtedly love this one, and for those of you out there who slept on their last release, “Caution” is about as good as it gets.
