Shoegaze isn’t meant for hanging out. Kevin Shields mixed Loveless to mimic the sound of his band performing in a crowded room, and still the results were better heard on headphones, under blankets or, ideally, both. Think of “Julia’s War,” the lead single from Hotline TNT’s forthcoming new album, Raspberry Moon, as My Bloody Valentine for extroverts: casting Will Anderson’s voice in silvery hi-fi, like the placid eye in a roiling vortex of up-the-neck guitar clipping and glitter-caked emo riffage. “Mark the score, swap out the tiles/I won’t make you change your style,” he sings, right as the song plunges into a shut-down-the-bar singalong. While 2021’s Cartwheel and its predecessors were effectively solo projects, Anderson recorded Raspberry Moon alongside a full band—guitarist Lucky Hunter, bassist Haylen Trammel, and drummer Mike Ralston—and, with their support, comes into his own as a frontman. On “Julia’s War,” Hotline TNT prove that fuzz distortion pedals can bring people together, not just train their eyes on the ground.
