After eight years, the expectations greeting new Hot Water Music material couldn’t be higher. ‘Exister’ sees the band on Rise Records, and short of comparing it to the previous efforts and risk being called wrong – let us just say that they’ve never put out something that isn’t very much worth a listen. They’re a band that have generated so many copycats and artists that claim them as an influence that it’s hard not to respect the band and their  influence, even if they’re “not your thing”.
The first thing you notice about the album is the bold artwork – it welcomes you in with the familiar HWM logo, and it’s daring you to find out whether the band still have it in them. In short (and saving you the trouble), the answer is a resounding yes.
It’s an easy spot to notice that Chuck Ragan’s solo material has left an impression on the overall Hot Water Music sound, but it has certainly not left it unrecognisable, and for it this eighth full length in their discography sounds melodic and personal as well as urgent, aggressive and powerful. It’s a fantastic sounding album, and Bill Stevenson’s work behind the desk just seems to get better and better with each band he works with. It’s a no bullshit punk record that arrives with a folk and country twinge. Stevenson has managed to bring the best aspects out of the band’s sound without shoving layers of gloss on top, and that’s something essential to the quality of the release.
‘Mainline’ starts the album as it means to go on and sets the trend for the instantly memorable tracks that fill it from start to end. Well executed harmonies dominate the choruses, and the definitive vocal from Ragan carries the perfect level of grit and melody from the word go. Following that ‘Boy, You’re Gonna Hurt Someone’ dials the pace back a little from the opener, and though it takes a little longer to deliver on what it threatens from the verses, in the context of the whole album it’s exactly where it should be.
As the already aired ‘State Of Grace’ follows with ‘Drown In It’ and ‘Drag My Body’, it becomes harder and harder to believe that this is the first record in eight years from the band – it’s a mesh of fantastic ideas from a focused unit that sees each track and part of the arrangement fitting into the fabric of the record in a unique and welcoming way.
The album reaches its conclusion without delivering an uninspiring moment, and though some long term fans of the band may take a while to get to grips if they carry lofty enough expectations, there’s no doubt that ‘Exister’ will be welcomed with open arms onto many “best of the year” lists, especially within the punk community.
It’s a album that begs you to go on a road trip and blast it out with the windows down, and for its strengths Hot Water Music should also end up drawing in many new fans from the Rise Records crowd. ‘Exister’ is a truly excellent effort, and one that you’d be mad not to add to your collection if you call yourself a punk fan.
TOM AYLOTT