4 out of 5

Label: Emergency Umbrella Records

Produced by: Shane Hochstetler

I had some conspiracy brain running about a band called Ferocious Eagle who were doing some of the same guitar mathy punky gymnastics as Bald Eagle around the same time, and that maybe it was the same guys, having grown up a little bit and listened to some 70s metal alongside their Discord stuff, then emerging as the adult Bald Eagle, but one’s from Portland and the other’s a midwest act, and, y’know, different guys.

The similar spirit I mentioned is legit, though, and it’s a musical gift that keeps on giving: when the people in the band just seem to be having a good time. Yeah, ideally that’s always the case, but a lot of things can get in the way of that – focus on image; on art; on message – but not for Bald Eagle’s Hot Shoulders. They have a song called “Those Are Cobras, Man,” and that pretty much covers the content.

Of course, zooming ahead a bit to a negative, funny lyrics can be a bit of a mixed bag when the music is this good – or rather, when there’s an emotive backbone to the tunes. BE mislead a bit by truly putting their all into the music, and while the ballsy rock of Cobras totally fits, several tunes branch out beyond gutsy riffing and get pretty intricate, moving past showmanship to some heavy hitting moments that seem like the vocalist is actually on about something serious, but you check the lyric sheet and 9 out of 10 times… no, it’s silly. But it says that on the tin with absurd song names (e.g. Stompin Up the Stairs (With My Moustache On)), so it’s maybe on me for having some expectations. Otherwise, the only downside here is that some emo underpinnings which are totally trampled over by RAWK suddenly come out at the end of the A-side with a croonier track – not a bad one, especially if you’re an emo person, but it’s an odd fit on the album.

Everywhere else, Hot Shoulders bridges producer Shane Hochstetler’s band’s sound – Call Me Lightning – to snotty, goofy punk like the first Whirlwind Heat, and the sharp math chops of Q and Not U if they weren’t scared to turn their guitars up to 11. A lot going into that stew, which the group never undercooks or overboils or other cooking descriptors – it’s truly impressive how the album keeps managing to be fun, heavy, and surprising throughout.