Tuesday, 17 June 2025 () Since its earliest iteration seven years ago, Hotline TNT has been, for all intents and purposes, Will Anderson’s solo project. For his 2023 breakout album Cartwheel, the shoegaze-inclined musician hit the studio with little more than the record’s producer, assembling its great 12 songs almost exclusively by himself. It was a big level up from Anderson’s first Hotline TNT record, 2021’s decidedly lo-fi Nineteen In Love, though his fiercely DIY ethos still gave way to Cartwheel’s cozy, delightfully imperfect fuzz. For maybe the first time, Cartwheel made Hotline TNT a buzz band beyond their New York City home base, sending them out on the road with peers and buzz-band predecessors Wednesday and earning their first proper festival gigs. Live, the songs on Cartwheel soared — that studio distortion became blissfully overwhelming, the melodies atop it sounding somehow even more triumphant. A full band, at least relative to just one dude, can have that effect.
Tuesday, 17 June 2025 ()
Since its earliest iteration seven years ago, Hotline TNT has been, for all intents and purposes, Will Anderson’s solo project. For his 2023 breakout album Cartwheel, the shoegaze-inclined musician hit the studio with little more than the record’s producer, assembling its great 12 songs almost exclusively by himself. It was a big level up from Anderson’s first Hotline TNT record, 2021’s decidedly lo-fi Nineteen In Love, though his fiercely DIY ethos still gave way to Cartwheel’s cozy, delightfully imperfect fuzz. For maybe the first time, Cartwheel made Hotline TNT a buzz band beyond their New York City home base, sending them out on the road with peers and buzz-band predecessors Wednesday and earning their first proper festival gigs. Live, the songs on Cartwheel soared — that studio distortion became blissfully overwhelming, the melodies atop it sounding somehow even more triumphant. A full band, at least relative to just one dude, can have that effect.