Los Angeles’ latest and greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, Hot For Crime, recently dropped their debut full-length album, Hot For Crime. The self-titled album contains 11 high-energy and sexually charged tracks to get listeners moving, heartbeats going, and good vibes flowing.
But is it too late for rock ‘n’ roll? Has the limelight passed on the core genre of yesteryear? Hell no! With that said, let’s find out just how fun Hot For Crime’s debut album truly is.
Instrumentally, “Do It All Night” will send listeners on a wave of electricity throughout the night, putting them on their own personal high. Bringing back the late-night brand of rock, “Do It All Night,” strikes perfection to my ears, everything from the growling vocal delivery to the familiar yet unique guitar riffs. This track brings out a wild sensation that’s simply fun.
Growing up with this style of rock, I will admit to being a bit taken aback at first, jumping into my first listen as I had moved on to more punk-focused genres. But, the second I let the band’s sonic sound take over, I was ten years old again, head banging along.
A sense of nostalgia comes with “Do It All Night,” but that doesn’t mean Hot From Crime brings nothing new to the genre, as they ultimately turn it on its head while paying tribute.
I found myself jamming out in the car to this one quite a bit. It’s a pure fun-filled jam that’ll rock every fiber of your body until you also find yourself grooving to the sweet sound of seduction floating about.
If you’ve missed the sweet sound of high-flying guitar solos, then this is the song for you! Can’t forget the backbone drum beats that will vibrate up and down the spine, creating an unforgettable musical experience.
“Ya Need It” is memorable; it got me fired up and ready to take on the day as if it was a personal theme song.
If “Ya Need It” was the track I most resonated with in terms of “feel good.” Then “So Good” is that feeling on steroids! Jam packed with good vibes and sexual feel-good tension that seems to be missing from modern rock music that’ll have listeners feel the accomplishment of sex just from listening to a song.
In simpler terms, “So Good” fucks. Lyrically, the track is pretty straightforward and easy to remember, which should translate to listeners wasting zero time singing along during long weekends, feeling the fire beneath their feet.
Slowing things down a bit but not by much, Hot For Crime’s best song on the album could be “You Ain’t Mine.” The personality the band injects into the notes being played and sung had me feeling energized in a way my usual music tastes fail to accomplish.
Turning things around from sexual tension to passive relationships, “You Ain’t Mine” is an excellent example of Hot For Crime’s versatility when it comes to their brand of rock, setting themselves away from the pack. With radio-friendly masterpieces like this one, I’m even more excited to hear more from this album in a live setting.
Probably the track I had a harder-than-usual time getting through. Simply put, “Gonna Let You Go” wasn’t for me. It’s not a horrible song by any means, but it didn’t give me that drive that the songs before it had pumped into my veins.
However, the great thing I always say about music is that it’s ultimately subjective. I didn’t like it, but it doesn’t mean others won’t. Following up, “You Ain’t Mine,” there wasn’t a click in my mind that continued from the former song into this one.
I found myself a bit disjointed, jumping between both tracks. But here’s the fun part; I loved “Gonna Let You Go” when I would listen to it with no other songs from the album playing before or after. So, to me, anyway, as a stand-alone, it’s great. But as part of the album, it just doesn’t connect for me.
Moving slowly into smooth, late-night jams once more, the energy presented a quarter into the track is probably fueling my need to hear it alongside a rowdy crowd.
“Good Bad Girl” continues to reveal the raw energy Hot For Crime is bringing to the masses, keeping me intrigued and fired up. This is an example of a song that will continually appear on my Spotify account.
Yet again, Hot For Crime’s bread and butter continues to be their simplicity while not degrading their musical integrity with flash and glamour. “Good Bad Girl” is off-the-charts fun and should quickly become a fan favorite.
“Alive” continues the trend I placed in my head that Hot For Crime could easily create an amazing rock soundtrack for any film. Once more, I’ll continue to praise the band’s unfiltered energy even when a track is on a smaller scale, as I still found myself moving along to the overall soundscape put on display.
“Alive” is fantastic and certainly made me feel alive. The track’s feel-good lyrical quality had me rolling head over heels like a giddy fanboy.
Vocally, this is my favorite track on the album. The tones are sweet, sincere, and fuel the instrumental guts like a roaring fire burning through a late Sunday evening. Listeners should be prepared to get lost in this one’s sweet melodies.
When I went through my first listen of Hot For Crime’s self-titled album, I was a bit thrown off by the sudden back half of the album slowing things down a bit. But, I was in for a fun surprise once the group turned up the heat and sent my senses wild with energetic frustration in the best ways possible.
Don’t be fooled by the subtle jams of sweet nothings provided by “No Te Quiero” as you’ll soon find yourself on the floor having a one-person rock party, quickly kicking up, jumping down, and absolutely losing yourself to the flurry of sound that’s both magical and confusing all at once.
“No Te Quiero” is another track that should be an immense blast within the confines of a live performance.
“I’ll make you dance, dance, dance” that’s all you need to know when jumping head first into “Irish Style.” This is Hot For Crime creating the backbone of an entertaining album. Listeners will be singing this one the moment they discover it, from familiar guitar riffs yet again to the infectiously simple lyrical structure built for fun sing-alongs.
I can’t count how often I annoyed my wife around the house by singing “It’s Irish style” repeatedly while dancing in the halls. From my side, I had an absolute blast.
“Irish Style” and this album’s second half are pure gold. They could have quickly become their own beast, but the high-flying antics of the album’s top half combined makes for an increasingly good time that has no problem triggering memories of yesteryear.
“Crazy Beautiful” brings the energy back three tracks ago for yet another blast of pure bliss and air guitar-worthy solos that continue to fuel my overall enjoyment. As I mentioned at the start, it’s been a while since I ventured into a pure rock album, and Hot For Crime has proven to be the perfect band to suck me back in.
Once again filled with fun lyrics, catchy melodies, and instrumentally super sonic qualities, I could run a few miles as my body began to run on the energy Hot For Crime was dropping all around.
“Crazy Beautiful” is an exceptional example of modern rock done right. Very little fluff and pure love for what’s in front of you. All qualities that have me wanting more.
Channeling their inner power rock, Hot For Crime cements their inclusion as a future Rock ‘N’ Roll hall of fame with “The King.” Probably the best track on the entire album, “The King,” had me singing loud, feeling proud, and created a perfect illusion of thousands singing along.
I’ve always been hard on closing tracks as they can either make or break an entire album, but what Hot For Crime has put together to bookend is utter perfection, a masterpiece in its own right, and the multiple replays I’ve given this one is proof of that.
This is the track that will further put Hot For Crime on their map of success. I expect big things from this band going forward, and boy, am I excited to see them blast through my great expectations.
Hot For Crime’s debut self-titled album is probably the most fun I’ve had listening to a full-length album in a while. The guitars are soaring, hearts are pounding, and lyrics so relatable listeners will see themselves in the writing. I don’t suspect a total return to listening to the pure rock genre, but in the case of Hot For Crime, their music will be sticking around for quite a while.
Hot For Crime proves they understand the genre and are ready to make bigger waves than ever before, and with an onslaught of fun songs at their disposal, that won’t be very hard.
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Stream Hot For Crime’s debut self-titled album on Spotify & Apple Music
