HOT LEG – Red Light Fever (retail CD +4 0dayrox extras)

As requested, here’s an album all shoulda check out: ”Red Light Fever”, the debut and only studio album released by HOT LEG, led by singer-songwriter Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. Additionally, we have various hard to find B-sides and one outtake as 0dayrox extras.
Musically this is classic rock n’ roll with some point in common with early The Darkness’ albums, add to that Seventies Queen meets AC/DC meets Thin Lizzy. Justin voice fits perfectly into this kind of material driven by great guitar riffs, vocal harmonies cool solos too bringing to mind Brian May in some places.
Don’t forget the clever and sometimes fun lyrics. The only thing to improve is the cover wich doesn’t represents the music inside at all.

On ”Red Light Fever” there are still those cherished AC/DC-like moments that you may remember from Darkness’ Permission To Land (Hawkins even uses the lyric “permission to land” on one song) mixed with those high vocals, taken to new levels of absurdity (“Chickens”). This is mixed with the polished Queen-like moments from the second Darkness album, One Way Ticket…, and the ’80s “keytar” sounds of his solo project British Whale.

The album kicks off with the aforementioned “Chickens”, which at first tricks you into thinking Hawkins has gone back to basics. Then the operatic chorus in full falsetto hits, and you realize that Hawkins is just as outrageous as ever.
“You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”, the second track, reminds you that Hawkins is still one hell of a guitar player. Coming up right down the middle between Thin Lizzy and Brian May harmonies, it is Justin’s guitar work that keeps this band most anchored in rock. The aptly titled “Trojan Guitar” is a cool workout, multi-faceted and complex.

By the time you get “Cocktails”, you will wonder just how Hawkins crammed so many notes into a word with just two syllables. Many will find this to be simply too much, like coffee with too much sweetener, or a cake with nothing but icing. It’s a great song, with that Def-Darkness vibe that I like so much, with a chorus that is ridiculous and fubçn at the same time.

“Gay in the 80s” finds Justin’s lyrics embracing the kitsch of that decade. Not a track for insecure rockers by any stretch. Yet “Whichever Way You Wanna Give It” is the most reminiscent of early Darkness. It has that “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” vibe, with a chorus straight out of One Way Ticket…, and some solid guitar riffs with ample space between the power chords.

Among the 0dayrox added bonuses, we have the B-sides (no long deleted singles) ”Cupboard Love” and “All I Gotta Do”, both upbeat rockers, HOT LEG’s cover of the Pointer Sisters ”Automatic” done rock n’ roll, and the outtake from the album sessions “Take Take Take”, another very vintage-Darkness sounding track.
Highly Recommended rock n’ roll

01 – Chickens
02 – You Can’t Hurt Me
03 – Ashamed
04 – I’ve Met Jesus
05 – Trojan Guitar
06 – Cocktails
07 – Gay in the ’80s
08 – Prima Donna
09 – Whichever Way You Wanna Give It
10 – Kissing in the Wind
0dayrox extras:
11 – Automatic (Pointer Sisters cover) [B-side]
12 – Cupboard Love [B-side]
13 – All I Gotta Do [B-side]
14 – Take Take Take [outtake]

Justin Hawkins — lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards
Pete Rinaldi – lead guitar, backing vocals
Samuel SJ Stokes – bass, backing vocals
Darby Todd – drums, backing vocals

BUY
www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Light-Fever-Hot-Leg/dp/B001PNE0RU