Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
Hotline TNT was conceived by singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter Will Anderson as a solo project. Their 2021 debut album Nineteen in Love was entirely self-recorded during lockdown, but in the aftermath of its release, Anderson assembled various live-band line-ups to promote the record. Enjoyably garagey and lo-fi in its sound, Nineteen in Love featured an energy and propulsion via a preponderance of fuzz pedals that recalled early Cloud Nothings. Their second album, 2023’s Cartwheel, was characterized by a more vibrant, confident sound, with Anderson’s more overtly melodic vocals drawing from the power pop hooks of Teenage Fanclub. The sonic evolution went over well, garnering critical acclaim and charting highly on several publications’ year-end lists, including Treble’s. Third album Raspberry Moon, however, represents the first time an entire band has been assembled to both record and tour a Hotline TNT album, and continues to showcase the development of Anderson’s talents as a songwriter and performer.
The acoustic and electric guitars on opener “Was I Wrong?” are simultaneously jangly and distorted, and complement Anderson’s melodic, plaintive vocals effectively. The precedence his vocals are given in the mix means they slightly overpower the instrumentation, but in the context of their sharpened hooks, it works. The faster, punchier “The Scene” is rife with multi-tracked guitars, and the riffs sound considerably chunky as a result, but with a nice interplay between these qualities and more pastoral elements such as the piano that kicks in towards the end.
Anderson and Lucky Hunter’s guitars are muscular but pleasant throughout “Julia’s War,” and the vocals on this song, though certainly showcasing a plaintive, introspective quality to them in the verses, are also highly infectious in the choruses. Anderson maintains a wistfulness as he sings “Letter to Heaven,” reflecting the fact that he has frequently used Hotline TNT as an outlet for addressing his interpersonal relationships, both romantic and platonic. The lead guitar heavy on treble and spits out lots of feedback, but the effect is counterbalanced by the softer strums of rhythm guitar.
There’s less density to “Break Right” than on many of Raspberry Moon’s other songs, but it has a steady, driving rhythm to it, bolstered by a chiming piano. With moments like these, the album often suggests it would make a great soundtrack to sunny evening drives in the countryside. This sort of nostalgic, wistful quality is at play in the caustic guitars and regretful-sounding vocals on “If Time Flies” and “Candle,” which pleasingly recall mid-’10s London shoegaze greats Cheatahs.
The electric guitars that define the album’s phenomenal sound are largely subdued on “Dance the Night Away” and “Lawnmower,” both of which are propelled along by acoustic guitars and pianos. Their plodding also makes them rare weak spots on an otherwise outstanding record. This is easily forgivable, though, because “Where U Been?” makes for a satisfyingly valedictory closer. And though an extra boost of tempo wouldn’t be unwelcome here, it encapsulates Raspberry Moon’s overall sound and mood well, warm yet melancholic. Bassist Haylen Trammel and drummer Mike Ralston expertly set the pace for resonant, memorable guitar melodies, along with Anderson’s vocals, permeated with regret at a relationship that is going to have to “tide me over until we meet again.” As the lead guitar reaches its piercing climax, the drums drop out and the song finishes on some muffled tape noise. It feels like a full, apt, and representative conclusion to the best album so far by a noise pop act whose recordings to date have been characterized by a combination of lo-fi aesthetics and angst-ridden lyrical concerns. It also leaves the impression of a band just getting started in terms of fully harnessing their talents at employing plaintive vocals and jangly, discordant, multi-tracked guitars to evoke longing for a simpler world and the bittersweetness of summer love. Raspberry Moon demonstrates that Hotline TNT have plenty of musical avenues to explore, and to hear them do so is a pleasure.
Label: Third Man
Year: 2025
Similar Albums:
Hotline TNT : Raspberry Moon
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums we cover are chosen by our editors and contributors.
