Seattle-based sci-fi pop band Hotels are back with a new single. ‘The Bat Watusi‘ is a pace-quickening taster of the delights in store on Hotels’ new album, On The Casino Floor. The noir-punk track is Hotels at their most lithe and propulsive, with an insistent rhythm section, sci-fi synths and unashamedly rocking guitars. The song repeatedly strips itself back to a muscular yet dreamy core, only to build into a tight celestial rock frenzy.
On The Casino Floor sees Hotels take their addictive and singular meld of post-punk, shoegaze rock and cinematic pop and launch it into outer space. The band has managed to leap headlong beyond the consummate songcraft of acclaimed sophomore album Where Hearts Go Broke into the creation of a wildly inventive and immersive song-suite. The concept album’s seven masterful cuts tell the story of a secret agent, his former mentor and current arch-nemesis, and a nefarious prince’s plan to destroy Earth during the grand opening of the universe’s only outer space casino complex…
“Hotels fuse elements of new wave, goth, and surf so seamlessly that genre tags will be the last thing on your mind when you hear their bittersweet, atmospheric pop songs” – Time Out New York
“With angular guitars, sober vocals, omnipresent synths, and a taste for the cinematic, Hotels come off like the ultimate ’80s soundtrack band, something akin to a cross between the dreamy haze of M83 and the angsty garage rock of The Strokes” – PopMatters
‘The Bat Watusi’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store until the release of On The Casino Floor on 23 February 2011. The spectacular album launch takes place in Seattle on 26 February 2011, with top-secret details revealed closer to the release date. Read a full press release here and check out more info at Hotels’ website.
Hotels – The Bat Watusi Hotels – The Bat Watusi