Posted on: April 24, 2010 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

The first track on “Beta” is “Young And Reckless”, and this track shows that Hotspur is a band that blends together a newer rock approach with a slightly punky tempo to create something that is similar to acts like Three Days Grace. Along the way, Hotspur adds a little bit of the angular guitars (a la Franz Ferdinand and The strokes) that have been all the rage in rock, throwing in a little bit of synthesizer sequencing that reside on the periphery of “Young and Reckless”. Hotspur moves into a much more blues influenced brand of new rock during their “She’s Got To Go”.

There’s even a hint of Santana-like arrangements during this track, which will keep individuals on their toes for the entirety of this track. For sure, Hotspur is attempting to angle for their star to shoot up the radio charts until they are the next 10 Years or Evans Blue. I believe that the band has more than enough talent to do just that, as single-worthy tracks like “Goodbye, Goodbye” show a catchy chorus meshed alongside a smart instrumentation and a bouncy tempo. If individuals were concerned that Hotspur were a one trick pony and that “Goodbye, Goodbye” was that one trick, one cursory listen to the following track “The Beginning of the End” should show that the band can stick at that high level for a number of tracks. The band definitely works better when they are creating and crafting tracks that have a quicker tempo. This is exactly what Hotspur does during their middle section of “Beta”, and “Her Majesty” is just another track that solidifies the band’s reputation with anyone who may just be listening in to “Beta”. “Have You Seen This Girl” brings Hotspur’s sound into a sound that blends together equal parts Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind.

This is done while still having a current sound to the track that will please listeners. The band is able to create a style of music that is intense while not putting off anyone that may not like the harder stuff. “Beta” has track after track that could conceivably be on radio, and I know for a fact that I cannot easily come up with any major changes that the band needs to make before growing any larger. Listen to “Skydive” and find a good reason why Hotspur should not be selling thousands of copies of this album based on that fact.

Top Tracks: Skydive, Criminal

Rating: 7.4/10

Hotspur – Beta / 2006 Shine Bomb / 10 Tracks / http://www.hotspurmusic.com / Reviewed 11 November 2006

[JMcQ]

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