Hot Take is a showcase of up-and-coming bands from Manchester (and occasionally other northern cities) held in the basement of YES. It does a really good job of providing a platform for smaller artists, taking advantage of the profile of the venue as well as promoter Now Wave, both of whom have tens of thousands of Instagram followers. All three events they held in January sold out and, although the one I’m writing about today didn’t quite do that, it drew an impressive crowd.
Opening were Rollups, in my opinion the standout act of the whole night. Their sound was very reminiscent of 90s indie-rock, with their lead singer’s vocals going from the mildly grungy and Courtney Love-esque (with lyrics like “Ow! It really hurts when I bite my tongue”) to the dreamier tone of groups like Mazzy Star. Adding character was their instrumentation, with ethereal guitar work and a woozy bass line that cut through the mix. In the context of most underground music you see in Manchester now, with its tendency towards intensity and complexity, all of this made them stand out completely. Fundamentally, Rollups were simply enjoyable to listen to. I’d recommend you give them a listen and try to see them live if you can.
Following them were Supermarket, a band who I sadly can’t be nearly as nice about. They offered up what can only be described as the sort of white rap you’d see on a sitcom sometime between 1985 and 1995. A vision of what Vanilla Ice would’ve sounded like if he hadn’t plagiarised ‘Under Pressure’, if you will. Taking their name to the logical extreme, every song was about either something you can buy in a supermarket (take ‘Instant Coffee’) or the ability to buy things in the first place. For example, their opening number took the concept of Patti Smith’s classic ‘Free Money’ and took away all song-writing talent or emotional weight, instead just focussing on how cool it would be to… have money.
The gig was headlined by slowhandclap. While not quite as good as Rollups, I really enjoyed their set. With a strong bassline, subtle synth work, and propulsive drums, they provided a fun blend of punk and dance music that kept me entertained throughout their set. At points, they sounded quite a lot like New York’s Model/Actriz, particularly in some of their vocals and guitar, something which, to me, can only be a good thing. To keep things interesting, they regularly shifted tempo and tone. They’re very much worth going to see, and it’s also worth listening to their first and only single ‘In the Belly’.
Despite my feelings about Supermarket, I had a really good time at this gig. I’ve been to two other Hot Take events back in January, and they’ve always been fun so it’s definitely worth going to one if you can.
Going to smaller gigs like is always a good thing to do and I’ve found a lot of artists I really love through them. Rollups and slowhandclap are two artists who are very much worth keeping an eye on, and there are definitely some people out there for Supermarket.
