Cartwheel
Album by Hotline TNT
Released 3 November 2023
Indie Rock
Label – Third Man
Rating – 7/10
Fuzzzzzzzzzzzz.
–
A sign of things to come, a harsh wave of fuzz bruises over the introduction of Protocol, first song from Hotline TNT’s Cartwheel. Too lively to be totally hypnagogic, too much verbal poetry to be totally shoegaze, the textural strengths of Cartwheel are nonstop, and, despite the amount of fuzz one may hear in indie rock, distinct to Will Anderson.
He juggles the distress of his chords with the sheer thunder of his effects on I Thought You’d Change, showcasing the album’s beautiful mix of vintage amplification and new era trickery. The depth of his sound even presides over softer cuts like Stump, so twee that there might be a jangle in there if it wasn’t for the forest fire of distortion. Hell, I love how natural distortion collides with detectable strumming on History Channel.
My only issue is that the synthesiser heard on Protocol isn’t repeated enough. A few spacey pads act as the basis of That Was My Life, but the album’s other niche feels missing. It doesn’t stop fuzz-leaking cuts like Out of Town and Beauty Filter from feeling blissful, but variety isn’t necessarily the album’s calling.
But those who like their muff big – and those who like their fuzz super – will be easily glued to Anderson’s default palettes. The fact that he mixes these palettes with moody moods and dreamy dreams gives them a little extra oomph, as if oomph was needed.
Best – History Channel – Out of Town.
Rating – 7 out of 10
PEANUTBUTTERPOPE 