stream Hot Water Music's "Complicated"
Hot Water Music will release their eighth album, Light It Up, the followup to their 2012 post-hiatus LP Exister, on September 15 via Rise (pre-order). We’re premiering a new track from the album, “Complicated,” which should instantly please longtime Hot Water Music fans. It’s a driving punk song, with the ruggedness of Chuck Ragan’s folky solo career and all the raspy vocals that you know and love. Here’s what the band tells us about it:
“Complicated” started as a very different musical than it ended up as. It was very slow, brooding, and groove-oriented. While we were working on it in the studio, Chris came up with the guitar lead. On its own, the lead reminded us a bit of Midnight Oil —one of our collective favorite bands— which informed us to pick up the tempo and change the song up to what it is now.
With that in mind, Chuck wrote his take on the same topics Oil often cover. The basic gist of the lyrics is that civilized/western/first world cultures are destroying the planet; even those of us with the best intentions can’t make the difference we’d like because life and the circumstances surrounding are complicated, hence the track name. The contrast is how likely it is that the cultures that still live simply and put value in the land and wildlife that support them will outlast all of us who wake up and check our Twitter feeds first thing in the morning.
Listen to the new song below.
Hot Water Music are playing day three of Riot Fest (the same day as Jawbreaker and Cap’n Jazz) and a Riot Fest aftershow, and after that they’re doing a short headlining tour.
As mentioned, that tour includes a NYC show on November 18 at Warsaw with the great Strike Anywhere and promising newer band Big Jesus (tickets). All dates are listed below.
Hot Water Music — 2017 Tour Dates
9/17 — Riot Fest — Chicago, IL
9/17 — Cobra Lounge — Chicago, IL (Riot Fest aftershow)
9/29 — Slim’s — San Francisco, CA*
9/30 — Echoplex — Los Angeles, CA*
10/27 to 10/29 — The Fest — Gainesville, FL
11/17 — The Sinclair — Boston, MA
11/18 — Warsaw — Brooklyn, NY ^
11/19 — Union Transfer — Philadelphia, PA ^
12/2 — Carioca Club — Sao Paulo, Brazil
* – with Dead to Me + Racquet Club
– with Strike Anywhere + Big Jesus
