Hot Water Music - Trusty Chords

Hot Water Music began as a typical Gainesville hardcore punk band, but by 2002 they had long been in the habit of drawing influences from all kinds of other genres. They had mastered pop-punk's sense of melody without pandering to any typically commercial sound; they had taken elements of prog-rock in the form of occasionally unusual guitar work but wisely side-stepped its tendencies towards lumbering, overlong instrumentals. They had even absorbed emo's heart-on-sleeve lyricism and delivery, thankfully avoiding all the usual emo-clichés. All of this, combined with the band's punk/hardcore roots made for an interesting and varied sound.

Both vocalists have a brilliant vocal style and rather than divide between clean melodic vocals, and shouting/screaming like many hardcore punk bands, both singers' styles are somewhere in between, preferring to use a very rough sounding melodic delivery, only occasionally breaking into a shout or a clean line or two when the need takes them. The guitars incorporate punk-style power chords, but also more intricate instrumental work and the occasional melodic solo, and the rhythm section are tight as hell, perfectly integrating the bass and drums into the sound, subtly adding genius fills in for even greater effect. I sometimes feel that Jason and George are unsung heroes when it comes to what makes Hot Water Music brilliant.

The track I am sharing today is "Trusty Chords." An ode to the way music can get you through anything, driven by a jumpy rhythm before breaking into a chorus which perches itself a few notches above "anthemic," something HWM consistently pull off. The lyrics to this song mean a lot to a lot of people. Alkaline Trio have the line "Those trusty chords could pull me through" and The Gaslight Anthem often change the bridge of Great Expectations to "I can't go on, you said my head's too heavy, I need that song, those trusty chords could pull me through. We were always waiting, always waiting, we were always waiting for something to happen."

For me, there is nothing better than that intro and then into "You'll get it right sometime, you will. I tell myself that every day. You don't need to latch on to anything." and the second part of the chorus "And the pain this morning, it filled my head, it's Jameson, it means that I'm not dead" is just fantastic. That is why it is one of my favourite songs.