Long-running Canadian pop-rockers Hot Hot Heat have been making music together since 1999, but the BC band will be bringing things to a close later this year. They've announced a brand new self-titled album, but have also revealed that the upcoming LP will be their last.
Hot Hot Heat is due out on June 24 through Culvert Music, and it marks the band's fifth studio album overall and first since 2010's Future Breeds. They released their debut full-length Make Up the Breakdown in 2002, followed by Elevator in 2005 and Happiness Ltd. in 2007.
The new record was written between 2011 and 2014, and rather than continuing on the experimental tangent of Future Breeds, it apparently hears them channelling their first two albums for inspiration. As a result, the album is said to be full of poppy hooks and energetic dance-rock riffs, all of which was captured to tape by producer (and frontman Steve Bays' Mounties bandmate) Ryan Dahle.
The first sampling of the record has arrived with the single "Kid Who Stays in the Picture." A jaunty, upbeat return to form for the dance-infused indie rockers, the track can be streamed below. Scroll past the Hot Hot Heat tracklisting to give it a listen.
The album's "Bobby Joan Sex Tape" will also appear on a Record Store Day 7-inch come April 16. The non-album track "Nature of Things" will be featured on the flip.
Bays also shared a statement bidding fans farewell, which reads:
To be able to tour from 1999 to 2014 and play hundreds of shows a year was amazing. It changed all of our lives. It was the greatest experience I could ever imagine. I can relate to our fans and I respect our fans. They are the kind of people I'd hang out with. I'm proud of every single record, and of finding the ground between making it challenging and fresh, but also not being afraid to be entertaining and put on a crazy show. Every show we ever did was just a total high energy spectacle and that's a great legacy to have.