End Hits Records and acclaimed American punk band Hot Water Music are excited to announce the Friday, March 18, 2022 release of the band’s brand new studio album, Feel The Void. Featuring the return of producer Brian McTernan (Turnstile, Converge, Thrice, Texas is the Reason), Feel The Void offers up a torrent of resilience that strives for light in the context of personal and global darkness across its 12 energetic and impassioned songs.
Recalling an old European tour memory, vocalist/guitarist Chris Wollard remembers the demeanor of members of his touring party being one of extreme mental and physical exhaustion. Finding it within themselves to carry on, “Lock Up” reveals this continued need to persevere in all aspects of life during those moments when it becomes the most challenging. “The pressure is immense to keep moving forward no matter what, so you have to develop a sort of tunnel vision and just try not to think about it,” Wollard says. “But there will be a point, no doubt about it, where you feel yourself slipping. Total exhaustion and delirium set in. I think we have all hit that wall in our band at different points. And like I said, it’s a very difficult place to be.”
Inspired by the band’s affinity for watching skate videos during their youth — along with the vibrant relationship between music and skating in general — “Collect Your Things And Run” was created with the help of Andrew Canon at Santa Cruz Skateboards. Canon, Joe Perrin, and Eric Palozzolo (also of Santa Cruz) enlisted pro skaters such as Steve “Salba” Alba, Emmanuel Guzman, Jereme Knibbs and Kevin Braun to lend footage to the entertaining clip alongside the members of Hot Water Music themselves skating, singing and having fun in their respective locales.
“The end result is cooler than anything we could have hoped for, and we all felt like kids again making and watching the video,” said Hot Water Music bassist Jason Black. Co-vocalist/guitarist Chris Wollard also had the following to share about the song itself: “In some ways it is about standing up for who you are, but it’s also about discovering who you really are. It’s about learning to live in the moment and not letting circumstances bring you down. Find yourself and accept yourself. It’s OK to be a work in progress.”
"Killing Time,” Feel The Void’s first single, is a direct response to the endless daily bombardment of negative information we found ourselves in the midst of during the early days of the pandemic. The song is a letting-out of pent-up frustration and negativity in the most positive way — through music.
Watch the music video for “Killing Time”:
In 2017, Hot Water Music vocalist/guitarist Chris Wollard stepped away from playing live with the band in order to focus on his mental health. While the other members – Chuck Ragan (vocals/guitar), Jason Black (bass) and George Rebelo (drums) – understood and supported his decision, it did nevertheless bring the future of the band into question. After a chance encounter between Rebelo and The Flatliners’ Chris Cresswell, Cresswell ended up stepping into Wollard’s shoes for a performance at The Fest that year, which would eventually lead to him becoming a permanent member (with Wollard continuing to record with the band).
Recorded at Black Bear Studios in Gainesville, FL, Feel The Void marks the return of producer Brian McTernan, who worked with the band on 2001’s A Flight And A Crash, 2002’s Caution and 2004’s The New What Next, often thought of as Hot Water Music’s classic period. From the moment the dark, portentous intensity of “Another Breath” kicks the record off, it’s clear that this is a band at the peak of their powers. McTernan’s involvement was incredibly instrumental in channeling that spirit and energy – the intense urgency of “Killing Time, “Newtown Scraper” and “Scratch On,” the nervous but positive emotional energy of “Hearts Stay Full” and the title track, the soaring chorus of “The Weeds,” the surging, powerful roar of closer “Lock Up.”
Feel The Void also finds Wollard and Ragan singing dual vocals again – and to devastating effect – something that should definitely please longtime fans of the band. Yet these aren’t songs that just recall the glories of the past with a fervent zeal. They also add a brand new dynamic to the band – just listen to the shimmering, spiky vitality of “Collect Your Things And Run” or the bristling, angular effervescence of “Turn The Dial,” which sees Cresswell on lead vocal duties. Encapsulating the essence of Feel The Void, however, is the touching “Habitual,” a song written about those who have suffered from and/or succumbed to cancer, and a track that is quite possibly the most personal song Ragan has ever penned. “The song is very much about just the fight,” he says, “using that will to carry on, and using whatever it is that’s inside us that obviously has the power to heal.”
Ultimately, it’s this spirit of perseverance, defiance and hope that defines this record, and which also demonstrates how steadfast Hot Water Music has remained in its beliefs and ideas. The world might have changed drastically in the past 25 or so years, but the reason why the band makes music has remained exactly the same as it ever was. What’s more, that music is just as powerful, vital and full of meaning as it ever was, and just as effective at counteracting the emptiness, pain and suffering that, sadly, is an inherent part of life.
“This is so much more than just a band,” says Ragan. “A lot of people understood a long time ago that we, the band, used Hot Water Music as a vehicle for our own therapy, to help get over these barriers and be able to continue when we’re feeling at our lowest, or feeling like the rest of the world is against us. Years ago, that was the choice that we made as a band – that it’s not about being popular or making money or seeing your name on a marquee. This is a way for us to release all this angst and inspiration and positivity, and share music that drives us to become better people, better friends and better communities. It literally started with four of us, and over the years it became so much more than just a band – and I’m just so incredibly honored to be a piece of this puzzle.”
Feel The Void track listing:
Another Breath
Killing Time
Newtown Scraper
Habitual
Collect Your Things And Run
Hearts Stay Full
Feel The Void
Turn The Dial
The Weeds
Scratch On
Ride High
Lock Up