With just two EPs and several singles, the UK punk band HotWax has already caught listeners’ attention at home and abroad. Their combustive style of punk and grunge rock pummels the senses with a ferocious energy sure to light a fire in the pit.
Although their earliest material dates back to 2020, when singer/guitarist Tallulah Sim-Savage and bassist Lola Sam were shifting from one band to another, drummer Alfie Sayers only recently joined. Sim-Savage and Sam are childhood friends, having met in secondary school when they were young. Sayers was also a close friend who met the two in college and formally joined HotWax in 2021.
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While the intensity of early songs such as “Stay Cool” show the synergy between Sim-Savage and Sam, where the two of them treat their instruments like buzz saws used for surgery due to how concentrated they are, Sawyers’ inclusion made the drums hit as hard as the always fearless lyrics. Their Invite me, kindly EP, just released this past October, is proof of how well HotWax work together — with lead single “Drop” crescendoing into a cathartic, kinetic energy release of a post-punk wildfire.
“Writing this EP felt really good, it all came together really quickly and the majority of the songs just fell into place,” said Sim-Savage. “Playing these songs live this summer has been so refreshing, I still feel so passionately about a lot of the lyrics, which makes it feel very therapeutic to perform.”
Despite being best known back home, the trio recently wrapped up their first US tour as support for Royal Blood, which kicked off with an LA date at The Wiltern this past November. The show at the iconic venue marked their U.S. debut. They also headlined the last two shows on their tour, one at NYC’s Mercury Lounge and the other at LA’s Zebulon.
All three bond over a shared love for similar bands, notably the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and use their strong admiration as jumping-off points. Although inspired, HotWax’s impassioned originality is best heard in their most popular song, “Rip It Out,” putting you in a false sense of security, where the hair-raising guitar squeal launches Sim-Savage into an all-out grunge rage as if following a lengthy vow of silence.
It should come as no surprise that Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs showed love for HotWax in thΩz e past year, another name in the long list of co-signs that also includes Elton John. For three recently graduated friends, that’s more than a solid start to what is likely to be another transformative year in 2024.
Words: David Sosa
Hotwax is currently on tour in the UK through August. With such a banner year, we hope to see a full-length album from the band soon, along with another jaunt across the pond.
Invite me, kindly by HotWax is out on streaming services via Marathon Artists. For more on new music and potential shows, follow them on Instagram, TikTok, and their website.
