New York shoegazers Hotline TNT return with new single ‘Julia’s War’, and announce new album ‘Raspberry Moon’.
The music video for Hotline TNT’s new single, ‘Julia’s War’, features the band attempting to complete a shoegaze bootcamp; crawling under fuzz pedals, conducting military exercises with guitars as their weapons, whilst a drill sergeant shouts in their faces. Not that they need the practice, mind. ‘Julia’s War’ contains all the hallmarks of Will Anderson’s shoegaze experiments, leaving right where he left off on 2023’s ‘Cartwheel’. Scuzzy guitars, soaring leads and reflective, often cryptic lyrics – it’s all still there. But things have changed for Hotline TNT in the intervening period too. No longer is TNT only a vehicle for Anderson’s solo work, and instead his touring band has now become the band.
Whilst much of the Hotline TNT sound remains on ‘Julia’s War’, it is some of the most direct music they’ve released this far. The vocals aren’t buried in the mix as you might expect with shoegaze and despite being wordless, the chorus of “na na na’s” is bound to get stuck in your head. As Anderson himself puts it, “you’ve never heard a TNT chorus this straightforward”. The change, or really solidification, of lineup seems to have simplified some of Anderson’s tendencies, but that’s no bad thing. Bring on the hooks.
Photo by Graham Tolbert
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