New Music Review - ‘Shower Beers’ the album by Hot Sauce Club
Hot Sauce Club’s much anticipated album, Shower Beers is out now for you to rock out to (with a beer, or 5). Released on the 29th April 2022. Photography by Jude Stevens, artwork by Max Came from HSC.
Dunedin based legends, Hot Sauce Club have done it Again, and Again, this time stopping the world this week with their much anticipated first album, Shower Beers, which is waiting for you to stream right now, best accompanied with reading this review.
Hot Sauce Club are the kings of producing some of the literal sauciest music that New Zealand could anticipate and Shower Beers is proof of this fact.
Shower Beers is punchy, has a fun spirited feel to it and allows the inner kid/teen and young 20-something inside of you to come out to play.
Hot Sauce Club don’t allow their tracks to become Complex or just another stick in the mud in terms of what they are capable of doing, they are out there testing the boundaries and making the big moves that they are able to.
Shower Beers may only be a six-track album, but the Hot Sauce Club boys have bottled it all up and shaken the nation with the rippers that they’ve tuned up.
The vocalism on the album pulls you in with the gruff, rock type energy that will leave you hanging on for more each step of the way.
Ride Along is a big mood for the beginning of the album, rip roaring its way through the streets, it sends the blood pulsing faster through your veins with the ultimate sound of absolute chaos, making for one hell of a party banger. At the same time, it is a very savoury tune. Grab a beer right now and fling this wee banger on your speaker, your neighbours may not appreciate the volume that you will have it turned up to (in this case, you need new neighbours), but people who have a brilliant taste in music certainly will.
Complex is the next tune to sink your teeth into on the album. It plays on favourable musical notes that are sweet, maybe a little less saucy than we usually hear from Hot Sauce Club, but it hits the spot delicately and with the intention to change their genre ever so slightly, even for one song. It still stands amongst their grungy/rock vibes however. This one is an undervalued treasure, so don’t skip past Complex. Ever.
Toni Hawke, ah, yes! You might remember this tune as Hot Sauce Club’s first single off the album and also my first review of their music, which lives here.
A Song for the Shower (Big Ride) is my favourite off the album, the standout being the guitar riffs that are made of pure gold swiftly poured in throughout. It’s always a nice daydream when you can literally see yourself being front row at a show of a band and being able to rock out to a certain tune. A Song for the Shower (Big Ride) holds a lot of that value for me. It comes across as that feeling you get when you get a kind message from a friend, like you are being showered (sorry, bad pun) with warmth. Scrumptious.
All Taken In is a top contender for the second spot of my favourite songs off of Shower Beers and rightfully so. The element of surprise is neatly tucked into the start of the song. Starting off slow and then getting faster with higher vocals that turn the world on its axis. Everything in All Taken In is like silk, creating this seamless experience for the listeners. There is not one single section of this song that isn’t enjoyable. A true Hot Sauce Club tune.
Again, and Again closes off the album, digging the roots slightly into the emotions that Hot Sauce Club have felt. Again, and Again is the longest song on this crafty release that contributes to you wanting to have more to be able to listen to. So, this is my message to the lads of Hot Sauce Club - please release another album soon!
Shower Beers was created with the help of Peter Molteno at 236 Studio who mixed and mastered the entire project.
Make sure to set some time aside on your Friday night to give this a spin and have a yarn with the Hot Sauce Club guys over on their socials, which you can find below.