Friday 7 August 2009

Hot Feet - New Waves @ Breaking More Waves

Hot Feet may be closely linked name wise to the staggeringly awful rockers Hot Leg (featuring the so bad he makes us shudder ex Darkness man Justin Hawkins) but we are pleased to say that that is where the joining of the dots ends. Hailing from sleepy Stroud, Gloucestershire, Hot Feet produce a delicate traditional folk sound that has a loose jazzy style to it. Their songs are formed out of light pattering drums, neat guitar work and soft fiddles that guide and glide, gently fusing with the vocal charms of Marianne Parish. Brought up with her fathers record collection of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Fairport Convention, Marianne’s voice is very much rooted in the sounds of traditional folk music, giving the band an old fashioned feel. This feel is also displayed in the bands photo shoots which have soft muted colours reminiscent of photography in the seventies or black and white styled as if it were the sixties.

There’s a warm intimacy to the sound of Hot Feet, you can hear it in the bobbing Firefly, which has just a hint of Fairground Attraction about it and the sparse and simple Joni Mitchell like Monsoon. It’s also very sweet, but not overly sickly. This is demonstrated on Wonderful Liar, a track which has an almost folk blues riff running through its choppy sturdy acoustic sound. There’s no video from the band at the moment, so instead have a listen by clicking on their linked name above. Whatever you do don’t search You Tube for Hot Feet as we did, trying to find a live clip of the band. If you do you’ll find some very odd films. You have been warned.

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