Hot Hot Heat

A standout band of the early-2000s dance-punk wave, Victoria, British Columbia’s Hot Hot Heat specialised in hooky, jittery songs that were defined by constant movement. Hot Hot Heat formed in 1999, evolving from thrashy, speedy punk to a more refined sound before signing to Sub Pop in 2001. Their 2002 debut full-length, Make Up The Breakdown, shaved off more of their early-career edges and spawned the underground hit “Bandages”, which was propelled by the pound-shop keyboard lines and gasped vocals of frontman Steve Bays. Their major-label debut, Elevator, followed in 2005; its glossier production highlighted the pop appeal of cuts like the galloping “Goodnight Goodnight” and the louche “Middle of Nowhere”. Guitarist Dante DeCaro left the band that year to join Montreal-based indie rockers Wolf Parade. In 2007 they released Happiness LTD., their second and final album for Sire; 2010’s Future Breeds marked their return to the indie world, and it featured a more jagged sound. In the ensuing years, Bays joined the jam-intensive supergroup Mounties, formed the duo Fur Trade with Hot Hot Heat bassist Parker Bossley, collaborated with Diplo and Steve Aoki on the party-ready dance cut “Freak” and began work as a producer and mixer. Hot Hot Heat released their final, self-titled album in 2016, a taut 10-track set that channelled some of the band’s early-career swagger and had witty, sometimes poignant lyrics about moving on.