Hot Garbage Explores New Territories on ‘Precious Dream’
Photo credit: Laura-Lynn Petrick
Following the release of their 2021 album “RIDE”, Toronto band Hot Garbage is back with their newest release “Precious Dream”, where they take their fuzzy cross between shoegaze and garage rock into new territories by exploring new sounds while keeping an urban, brutalist style throughout.
Immediately, this change in style becomes apparent with “Snooze You Lose”, covering you with waves of noise, taking cues from classic bands like Kyuss and Fu Manchu by infusing the heavy feedback sound of stoner rock with their garage rock style. From there, it switches to a more upbeat and energetic tone with “Look at My Phone”, still keeping the heavy sound but toning it down with a punk edge. Pivoting on its heels, the next track “Lowering“ was one of my favourites, taking influence from classic surf rock riffs that the band keeps building upon while never losing any of its energy along the way. Turning down the tempo, but maintaining the frenzy, the band transitions into “Mystery”, where they keep their standard garage rock fare while also allowing a breather from the intensity of the previous song. Envisioning a second part of the last song, the band returns to the initial stoner rock sound with “Tunnel Traps”, showcasing a cohesive blend of diverse genres that works very well.
At this point, it’s probably apparent that I think that the band’s diversity of sound on this record is a massive highlight for me, and one of the best songs that demonstrate this is the short but memorable track “Sarabandit”, where they employ high-pitched electronics and leans further into their shoegaze sound, giving them a poppier sound compared to the rest of the album. They don’t shy away from switching the pace quickly, revving up the energy with the fantastic “Blue Cat”, taking cues from post-punk and creating a tight atmosphere that heavily contrasts the loose and chaotic sounds common on the first half of the record. The penultimate song “Traveller / Caravan'' is one of the biggest highlights, returning to a slow sound that’s closer to classic psych rock rather than stoner rock, slowly building towards a heavy and fuzzy guitar solo that rewards the listener for their patience. Finally, the last track “Erase My Mind” calms things down considerably with a heavy post punk edge to their shoegaze garage rock style.
The lyrics, while they aren't particularly discernable in the song, help develop the atmosphere of a cold, brutalist city. They paint an incredibly dreary portrait of its inhabitants, incredibly fitting of the tone and the energy that the music maintains throughout the album. As a whole, I highly enjoyed this record, and I wish for more garage rock bands to start experimenting with new styles and genres in this way, but maybe that’s what makes Hot Garbage so unique.
