By Jason Barnard
Got Kinda Lost Records, the new reissue imprint of Guerssen, digs our rare and/or privately pressed rock and reissue them for a wider audience; Hot Knives are one such group enjoying a release on the label. Hailing from San Francisco they were fronted by brother-sister combo Michael and Debra Houpt plus two ex-Flamin’ Groovies (guitarist Tim Lynch, and drummer Danny Mihm) as well as bassist Ed Wilson. This LP brings together their single releases and unreleased tracks from the late 70s.
Their sound echoes some of the best acts from the Bay area a decade earlier tied to a pop-garage heart. Indeed I hear echoes of of early Fairport Convention who initially took their lead from San Fran but filtered it through a folk/rock lens.
Ultimately however you have to judge any release by the strength of the songs and this 12 inch largely delivers across the board. This release kicks off with the instantly catchy ‘Sooner Or Later’ and moves into ‘So Fast’ which opens with a ‘Green Manalishi’ style riff into a power-pop chorus.
In fact the weakest track is arguably their cover of Moby Grape’s ‘Hey Grandma’ which conversely highlights the quality of their own songwriting. Other tracks to check out include folk ballad ‘I Hear The Wind Blow’, the lovely band and vocal harmonies interplay of ‘Secrets About Me’ and anthemic garage rock of ‘Around The World’. ‘Turning Into’ ends on a commercial note a song that begs the question why they weren’t ripping up the charts like Fleetwood Mac at the time.
Don’t get bound up in thinking this release is just for those in the know, Hot Knives created instantly accessible music deserved of a mainstream audience:
Thank you for the nice review!