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[donald]

I got this from www.azrockcalendar.com

Defend LA
12-2002
by Clay Whipkey

Chaotic, cacophonous, explosive. Almost a semblance of madness, but with a method to it. Tempe-based noise rock outfit Hot Fought Cold come at you with all these things, seemingly to stun you and leave you dazed, perhaps helpless for a future and fatal second attack? Only time will tell. This initial assault on the auditory senses, known as Porrusturvat (possibly named after an ultra-geek favorite computer game where the object is to push the enemy down a flight of stairs?), begins with the duplicitously titled Corpse Hatch/Innocence Tube, a volatile burst of angst and shout set to a mix of shrilling guitar lines that gracefully spin into sweeps of sweetly dark new-wave bliss. The CD ends with the completely instrumental 94/95, a four-minute journey from a cold, dark tunnel, through grim valleys and off jagged cliffs, and then back to the cold room again. 94/95 carries an almost gothic feeling to it, kind of like Bauhaus ? if you gave Daniel Ash a scientific calculator. The two songs act as contrasting bookends to an album that is like getting hit in the head with a pointy object, then sliding back and forth between full awareness of the glaring pain in your skull and a half-conscious world of hallucinogenic distractions, finally to be saved by the paramedics who promptly inject you with enough morphine to make everything okay again. You leave this record with a feeling similar to that you experience the morning after you?ve had a particularly disturbing dream. Sure that it wasn?t real, but somehow unable to completely shake that unsettled feeling.

The recording and production, done by Ron Marshall (ex-Christie Front Drive), is very good, especially as a first release by a local band. There are eight tracks on the CD, half of which were recorded over a year ago; the other half recorded just this past fall. The mix is fairly even, although it tends to lean more on the primary guitar, and lacks a little bit of low end. There is a certain lo-fi element to the recording, but the volume levels are good for the most part, so it gives the record an almost “classic” feeling. The feeling you get when you listen to The Cure’s Three Imaginary Boys, or The Clash’s London Calling.

There are no lyrics printed in the CD insert, and none as of this time on the band’s website, so it is difficult to really make an emotional connection with the record, as the vocals are consistently delivered in yells and screams. A listener can feel a certain energy from the plaintive cries, but without knowing the words, there is a distance that is maintained.

All in all, this record is great addition to the library of any noise rock connoisseur. It has a good variety of tempos and there are a few keyboard compliments that add refreshing touches of color to the aural landscape. Other notable tracks include Ugly Kids in Vintage Clothing and El Taqueria. Expect more from Hot Fought Cold in the future. They are sure to be a force to be reckoned with in the Arizona indie rock scene for as long as they remain intact. 

[chadk]

yea thats pretty old but thanks for the shout outs