Suicide Invoice

San Diego’s venerable Swami Records has been putting out the best in grimy rock and roll for almost a decade now. Though many of the bands on Swami have roots in hardcore punk, the music that the label releases is often deeply rooted in traditional American rock & roll. As the Cramps famously proved, chaotic bursts of noise always sound better when accompanied by a dose of quavering rockabilly reverb, or a helping of classic garage rock badinage. The Hot Snakes play with the amp crackling fury of hardcore favorites like Pussy Galore and Black Flag, but augment their wall-of-noise style with the chunky chords and catchy choruses of garage era groups like The Sonics and The 13th Floor Elevators. On the storming “Gary Forgets His Insulin” they inject some hardcore blast beats into a hazy delta blues shuffle, making for a song that roars with the disgruntled ferocity of an ailing diesel engine, all over heated fury and black exhaust. In an era when garage rockers are often inhibited by a misplaced sense of reverence and awe, The Hot Snakes show no shame in remaking the past in their own hardcore informed image. On *Suicide Invoice* they show their respect for the sounds of the past by tearing them apart.

San Diego’s influential post-hardcore all-stars Hot Snakes – boasting members of Pitchfork, Rocket From the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Earthless, Obits, Burning Brides, OFF!, The Delta 72, and more – released three of our favorite rock records of the past 20 years: Automatic Midnight, Suicide Invoice, and Audit in Progress. All three were originally released on Swami Records, with art by singer/guitarist and visual artist Rick Froberg. And now, finally, they’re ours! As we await the somewhat-later- in-2018 release of their first new album since 2004, please make these Sub Pop reissues yours. Suicide Invoice, their second album, was originally released in 2002. It was recorded at San Diego’s Drag Racist Studios in 2002 with engineer Ben Moore. The album exhibits Hot Snakes’ slightly larger palate in mood and dissonance. People enjoyed the shows and listening to the recorded music, but strain from controversy and fame would reveal cracks in the seemingly impenetrable hide of Hot Snakes. A year after the album’s release, drummer Jason Kourkounis left to focus on other music.

Christ almighty, it's the Hot Snakes! Maybe you've heard of 'em. Back in 2000, they released a fine ...

Suicide Invoice is the second full-length for this band, whose star members bring components of their former/current projects into the sometimes cartoon, always intense world of Hot Snakes.