Shoegaze never dies. Decades on from a crop of British bands adding layers of droning heaviness to the palette of neo-psych acts like Spacemen 3 and The Jesus & Mary Chain, the genre has, in its purest form, barely moved a dial on its many pedals, finding fresh pockets of interest with reliable regularity.
Among the new breed keeping the style at the forefront of many minds, Hotline TNT play a version of classic shoegaze that favours its pretty power-pop side over its noisy, experimental side. Their take is a distinctly American one, too, closer to the driving alt rock of Dinosaur Jr and Sugar than it is to the delicate textures of Slowdive.
Their latest album ‘Raspberry Moon’ features multiple examples of this anthemic approach: Julia’s War is full of vocal hooks, Break Right is a linear earworm, while the comparatively upbeat If Time Flies sounds like Japandroids on a dose of sedatives.
All of them feature strong vocal performances from singer and guitarist Will Anderson — previously the group’s sole recording member — in a manner that sets them apart by embracing something often eschewed by contemporary shoegazers.
Dance The Night Away is the album’s most unique track. Decked out in so many layers of guitars they sound almost percussive, it’s both the most psych-pop moment on ‘Raspberry Moon’ and also its boldest experiment. Generally, though, Hotline TNT’s latest doesn’t quite do enough to stand out from its many influences.
The songwriting is consistently strong, with Break Right a particularly engrossing highlight, but there’s no one idea on ‘Raspberry Moon’ that hasn’t been had before. This fact doesn’t make it a bad record, just one that fails to leave a distinct impression.
Hotline TNT Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun November 09 2025 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Tue November 11 2025 - DUBLIN Workmans Cellar
Wed November 12 2025 - MANCHESTER White Hotel
Thu November 13 2025 - GLASGOW Mono
Fri November 14 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Hare And Hounds
Sat November 15 2025 - CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
Sun November 16 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON Joiners
Mon November 17 2025 - CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
Tue November 18 2025 - LONDON Garage
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