Hot Face

“a whiplash riptide of psych-punk adrenaline. Riffs up to here, shreds with enough friction to start small house fires…the falls down are fatally far but the heights are so euphorically high” So Young Magazine

Out today (8th October), South London’s Hot Face return with long-awaited new single ‘17 Day Migraine’ ahead of dates in London and Europe.

Blending an Osees-esque psychedelic fury with the melodies and mod haircuts of 60s British garage, the track thunders fast and raw through crunching chords, cantering choruses and unhinged hell-for-leather freak-outs, capturing all the sweaty, hedonistic immediacies of a three piece burning a candle at both ends.

Recorded with Alexis Smith (Speedy Wunderground) and Tom Wilson Kellet (of Moreish Idols), the track’s lyric recounts a second-hand story packed with all weird macabre surrealism that you might expect from a band that often feature ghoulish French monster masks in their live performance: 

Offering more on the track, the band say: “Inspired by a story recited on a rainy night in Soho, 17 Day Migraine is a manifestation of anarchic scenes and surreal nihilism, sonically channelling the likes of The 13th Floor Elevators, Wire and CTMF”

Forming out of an impromptu jam in a Croydon pub basement, before emerging - many a garage rehearsal later - as Hot Face in 2022, the band were headhunted/moshed to by producer Dan Carey upon seeing one of their typically ferocious live shows. Recording their debut single ‘dura dura’ for the esteemed Speedy Wunderground series (and appearing on their most recent ‘Volume 6’ compilation), the band won early backing from So Young Magazine (Online/Print) and Still Listening, in addition to airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music (New Music Fix), Radio X (X-Posure) and KEXP.

A regular presence on the London gig circuit, the band’s numerous live outings across the UK/EU include shows with Opus Kink, LIFE and Joyeria and a slot at the most recent Manchester Psych Fest,  with a brace of shows at keynote showcase festival Left Of The Dial penned for October. Given the rare honour of returning to the Rotterdam event for the second year running, Hot Face also appeared at their curated stage at Down The Rabbit Hole in July.