The Hot Puppies - 'Blue Hands' (THP) Released 29/09/08

Sometimes a band’s name is enough to put you off listening to them. The Hot Puppies is a rather awkward choice of moniker. Push thoughts of breasts or baby dogs asphyxiating in cars aside as it’s actually taken from poet Dorothy Parker’s ‘Hymns of Hate.’ Put this CD on during an intimate tete a tete – ideally a second or third date and casually drop in the Dorothy Parker thing and hey presto you may get laid.
 
Becki Wood’s vocals on ‘Where The Werewolves Meet’ could make Ann Widdecombe feel like Dita Von Teese.  Newman  has the kind of voice that every woman thinks she has after ten double vodkas and the material on ‘Blue Hands’ showcases this enviable talent to perfection. Think Debbie Harry meets Kate Bush reading Lorca in a basque and fluffy mules.
 
But Wood’s vocal range is met pitch by pitch by her band mates. The Welsh five piece manage to compliment each other and build up a sense of sophistication and drama. There’s moments when this drama is heartbreaking – the Lorca inspired title track has a fragile simplicity thanks and some very beautiful piano. There’s times when the drama is farcical. The catchy bass driven ‘The Word On The Street’ has elements of early Pulp, largely due to the spoken male vocals and electronica but lacks Mr Cocker’s sense of irony.
 
As good as Luke Taylor’s lyrics are they do seem to be lacking humour. That’s not to say that he should go down The Flight Of The Conchords  route but a man who cites Nick Cave as an influence must have a dark sense of humour. The Hot Puppies may regard ‘Blue Hands’ as their album of dissent, but dissent doesn’t have to be serious and it’s just a shame that this darkly ambitious outing couldn’t have just a tiny bit more levity.
 
Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers) manages to scale the mock epic heights this album so clearly inspires to without resorting to making it sound pretentious, which it all easily could have  thanks to some of the reference points – Lillian Gish and Tyrone Power to name but two.
 
While the use of ‘Love Or Trial’ from their previous album on BBC’s Gavin and Stacey is arguably their biggest claim to fame to date ‘Blue Hands’ should change all that. If only they could stop people saying “Oh what’s occurring?” in a crap fake Welsh accent….