If an album is the static screen of an old television, Hot Shock by HotWax is the hammer that smashes right through it. Hailing from Hastings, this trio has delivered one of 2025’s sweatiest, rawest, and most defiant records. The raw fury of The White Stripes, the snarling beauty of Wolf Alice, the unruly spirit of '90s grunge… none of them quoted, all of them absorbed — like smoke pulled deep into the lungs of this record.
“Phone Machine” – A Panic Attack Strung on Guitar Wire
The first spark of the album, Phone Machine, erupts like inner static in a room with no signal. The vocals don’t just crack — they tear. Drums don’t beat like a pulse, they punch like frustration. This isn’t a message — it’s an explosion left unread.
Bouncing Off the Walls – Live, It’s a Blackout
When HotWax takes the stage, they don’t play like a band — they hit like a blackout: unpredictable, raw, and bound to break something. Deep guitar tones, muffled distortion, vocals laced with emotion too heavy to hold back. The venue feels less like a concert hall, more like a basement with broken mirrors and shaking walls.
Grace Cummings (vocals/guitar), Lola Sam (bass), and Alfie Sayers (drums) might be a trio, but on stage, they feel like a riot. The lights don’t find them — they burn around them.
Hot Shock – The Album that Brings Its Own Jolt
Hot Shock doesn’t belong to a genre — because it can’t be pinned down. Too noisy for pop, too volatile for alternative, too alive for grunge nostalgia. It doesn’t play — it crashes. The tracklist doesn’t feel arranged — it feels like someone hit fast-forward on a mixtape, landing wherever the chaos leads. It’s out of control, and that’s what makes it real.
Turn it up before the headphones go on. HotWax isn’t meant to be heard — it’s meant to be felt. They’re not just another UK export. They’re the voice of a generation with scratched souls and rusty guitar strings. Broken. Dirty. Loud.
