Hotline is the new project of Brooklyn’s Mike Zorrilla and Mike Kirby, former members of the hazy dream pop act Tiger Dare. Ian Vidaurre has joined them on the drums, and together the three are making rock music that has an immediate familiarity and comfort to it. With their first single they garnered apt comparisons to American Football and Red House Painters, but at the end of the day their sound occupies a warm space that few have laid claim to.
A few months ago Hotline released “Don’t Look Away”, which felt appropriate for the winter months, Zorrilla’s vocals steadied and somber against the gleam of layers of phased guitars. The B-side for their forthcoming 7”, “Breech Born” is a bit more thawed-out, though no less pensive. Warm arpeggios spill over swinging drums as Zorrilla sings to someone who’s been distant, “Make yourself who you aren’t / you’re not the only one.” His voice is heavy as he makes this difficult an admission, but it retains a trace of optimism, a constant push forward over the bright instrumental waves. Midway through the song ethereal currents of noise wash over the main riff and the acute feeling piles until Zorrilla’s voice returns with a renewed energy. “Tracking distance seems so hard,” he reminds us earnestly, and it’s hard not to feel a twinge of regret.
Don’t Look Away b/w Breech Born will be out tomorrow, April 1, via Wonderland Archives. The 7″ release show is set for tonight at Berlin in NYC with Total Slacker, Melt, and Elena. Hotline will be touring the east coast in April, and you can scroll down for the dates.
Hotline tour dates
April
16 Baltimore, MD at The Crown
17 Richmond, VA at Bandito’s
18 Pittsburgh, PA at Mr. Roboto Project
19 Washington, DC at The Velvet Lounge
20 Philadelphia, PA at The Nest
22 Winooski, VT at The Monkey House
23 New Brunswick, NJ at Paradise Lost
May
17 Brooklyn, NY at Alphaville
