Hot Cross article for Orange Lazarus
I was originally thinking of making an article based around the history of emotional hardcore, primarily 90's screamo. However, I took a step back and realized that many of the prominent bands are represented in the current band, Hot Cross. So, I decided to write up an article on Hot Cross in perfect timing with their latest release, Risk Revival.
We'll start with the bands that came together to form Hot Cross. The drummer (Greg Drudy, who also runs the record label, Level-Plane) and the vocalist (Billy Werner) came from Saetia. When Saetia split up in the mid-90's, Greg formed Interpol (yes, that Interpol) and Billy left for London for school. The remaining three members formed Off Minor. Off Minor went through several line-up changes until it included Matt Smith (and there may be an inaccuracy here, as I am unsure if Matt also played in Saetia), who played bass for them. Josh Jakubowski was a guitarist of the band Neil Perry, who went on to play in several other prominent screamo bands such as Joshua Fit for Battle and The Now. Finally, there was Casey Boland who played guitar in You & I. These bands were all friends with eachother and it was inevitable that there would be some collaboration along the line.
In either 2000 or 2001, the band got together without Billy and recorded some songs. At that very brief time, the vocalist of the band Errortype: 11 was in the band. However, he was having scheduling issues and had to quit. The remainder (Greg on drums, Josh on bass, and Matt and Casey on guitar) recorded instrumental versions of the songs that would become A New Set of Lungs and sent them to Billy in London. He and Greg kept in touch and Greg asked him if he would like to do vocals for the band upon his return home. He accepted the offer, returned home on a Monday, practiced with the band for the first time on Wednesday, and played a show with them that Friday. A New Set of Lungs came out in May, 2002.
The album was comparatively successful, living up to the hype that no one thought it could. A split with Light the Fuse & Run followed a year later, after many complications. They recorded and released Cryonics, their first full-length, and then went on a rampage through Japan with Envy and City of Caterpillar. Both the album and the tour were a complete success. Many consider Cryonics to be the band's best work.
Hot Cross recorded a split with Lickgoldensky in 2004, and then Fair Trades and Farewells a year later. It was an EP, where Josh and Matt switched roles so they could play what was most comfortable to them. This payed of greatly, and Hot Cross's sound as a whole completely changed to a more angular and technical style. Given the immense amount of positive feedback of the album, Josh stayed on guitar and Matt stayed on bass to record a split with The Holy Shroud. Unfortunately, due to Josh's busy career as a music producer, he announced his leaving of Hot Cross in 2006. Fans of the band lost hope, as Josh was one of the most important members to the band's sound. There were parts of nearly every song where the vocals surrounded on him. He'd make his return to the band in a different way later in the year.
The band continued to play as a four-piece throughout 2006, during this time, Greg became friends with a few of the higher-ups at Equal Vision Records (Converge, Coheed & Cambria, Fall of Troy, Alexisonfire, etc.) and the band switched over from Level-Plane. This was obviously a sign that the band was moving in the right direction. Greg was also relieved that he no longer had to worry about marketing and distributing his own band.
They recorded an early version of Risk Revival, but were unhappy with it. They made the very difficult decision to throw out the old one and record with, guess who, Josh Jakubowski. Unfortunately, the album leaked a month before its release date (Febuary 20th). Those who got their grubby mitts on it were very impressed. The album exhibits a return-to-roots sound that has more of a punk flavoring to it than any of their past albums. Casey manages to do on one guitar what they needed two guitarists for on their previous records. Losing Josh as a second vocalist means that there's a bit less variety in the record, but there are several songs that stand out in that they are very different from the rest, such as "Silence is Failure". Overall, it is a brilliant record, and I eagerly await my preorder.
So, now that I've told you what there is to know about the band, why should you check them out? If you like fast, guitar-driven music that pummels you without going overboard, this band is for you. If you're someone who is new to hardcore music, they are at least an excellent gateway band. Also, if you like this band, I recommend that you check out their pre-Hot Cross work in the bands I mentioned near the top, you won't be disappointed.
