HOTWIRE
The Routine
RCA Records
So what’s the deal here? Melodi-metal band Hotwire has released a perfectly good album that’s also perfectly boring. This is the same old nu-metal that somehow still has a stranglehold on the airwaves. It is done better here, but the problem is that it’s still been done before…again and again and again! “Neuro Girl” reeks of Adema collaborating with Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha. “Not Today” is Alice In Chains more than a decade on and with a little more groove. “Invisible” is a rocking Stone Temple Pilots-flavored track (its intro is almost a direct lift of “Vasoline”) and “Say What You Want” is thisclose to being a Metallica ballad. Perhaps the title of this album was a tip-off. It’s all routine. It’s done well, but there’s nothing special. On the last track, “In The Unknown,” it feels like Hotwire’s tugging at the soul of U2, which is at least a worthwhile diversion from the rest of the disc. Unfortunately, it’s still someone else’s soul and sound. Unless you’re just a massive collector of this genre of music, there’s no reason to look into Hotwire. (1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036)
Chris McKay / concertshots.com