Hot Hot Heat w/ 22-20s and Hey Rosetta!

It feels like ages since Canada’s Hot Hot Heat were one of the trendiest bands in indie-rock, combining garage-rock and dance-punk into a volatile but poppy mix that couldn’t have been cooler in 2002. The group had difficulty recreating the excitement of their breakthrough debut album, Make Up the Breakdown, though, and a fruitless stint on the major label Sire did little to help them grow their audience. This year the band returned with their first new album in three years, the self-produced Future Breeds, which actually does make good on the promise of their debut record, even if it doesn’t sound nearly as fresh as it would have six years ago.