Hotline TNT Embrace Pop Leanings on Great New Album
Photo Credit: Sara Messinger
Just after the one-minute mark on “Julia’s War,” the standout track from Hotline TNT’s brilliant new album, “Raspberry Moon,” there is a glorious cascade of “na na na nas”—the latest continuation of a time-honored vocal tradition used by musicians for decades.
That classic wordless interlude—employed by everyone from the Beatles to One Direction to Michael Jackson—has long been a staple of pop music, and Hotline TNT’s choice to include that section in “Julia’s War” elevated the song into instant classic realm. But for Will Anderson—the Hotline TNT songwriter known for perfecting the anti-pop genres of shoegaze and slowcore—the decision to include those well-worn flourishes was not an easy one.
“Those were originally not supposed to be in the song—they were just placeholders until I could come up with real lyrics,” said Anderson, whose band plays at the Great American Music Hall on September 24. “And then I just never did. So, we got into the studio and started mixing the album, and I kind of got cold feet. I looked at Alex [Farrar], who was mixing the album and just flat out asked him if this was a good idea. I was definitely scared of going that route. But he told me to go for it, and I’m pretty happy we kept those in the song.”
“Julia’s War” is just one example of Anderson and Hotline TNT honing the blown-out, maximalist sound of their previous two records into a tighter, more polished approach. They haven’t abandoned their roots—there are still plenty of wonderfully loud moments of white noise on the album—but “Raspberry Moon” represents an intriguing step forward for the band.
After playing in various groups for years, Anderson started Hotline TNT in 2018, and the band’s breakthrough came in 2023 with the release of “Cartwheel” a critically lauded release (the best record of the year, in this writer’s opinion.) “Cartwheel” saw Anderson find thrilling ways of wrestling and harnessing dissonance and squalling feedback into unconventionally catchy tunes.
For “Raspberry Moon,” those big hooks and earworm melodies come easier, with the band sanding down the rougher edges from “Cartwheel.” Anderson’s vocals are clearer and the guitars and synths aren’t quite as layered—that mountain of noise has been terraformed into more of a large hill.
“’Julia’s War’ is definitely the most straightforward pop song we’ve done so far,” said Anderson, who has made news recently for his principled stand to abandon Spotify and the company’s amoral owner, Daniel Ek. “When we finished that one, it almost felt like a radio song, we thought that could be our ‘Shrek 5’ soundtrack song. And the rest of the album has more clean guitars—there’s even an acoustic ballad in there. We definitely cleaned things up, but I wouldn’t say it was because of some reaction to ‘Cartwheel.’ It really just happened organically.”
Not only do Anderson’s vocals rise above the din of noise on the album, but his lyrics represent some of the more hopeful and endearingly candid declarations he’s ever penned.
In the past, Anderson has been a master of chronicling fractured, fraying relationships, but on “Raspberry Moon” his outlook is downright romantic. Songs like “Candle”—with the couplet “I wanna try/Get butterflies,”—and “Dance the Night Away” offer unashamed avowals of love—hopeful departures that are rooted in real life contentment.
“This album has more triumphant love songs than anything I’ve ever written before, for sure,” said Anderson. “There are a lot of songs about my current relationship, which is the happiest one I’ve ever been in. There are still some sad songs on the album—there will always be memories of the bad stuff, and sometimes those sad songs are easier to write. But, overall, I find this album very hopeful.”
Anderson and Hotline TNT have frequently been the (reluctant) centerpiece of the ongoing topic of “shoegaze revival,” but “Raspberry Moon” proves once again that the band is not limited to a single genre. Always more of a Teenage Fanclub power-pop group than a maxed-out My Bloody Valentine noise rock outfit, “Raspberry Moon” further roils the debate of the band as shoegaze saviors.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the gorgeous ballad “Lawnmover,” a sparse, acoustic guitar number that feels like a lost track from Big Star’s “#1 Record”.
“It’s not like I sat down and tried to write a Big Star song, but I’m definitely not shying away from that inspiration,” said Anderson. “That song was definitely new territory for us, which made it really exciting to write.”
Hotline TNT have extensive touring plans for 2025—jaunts that will take them all across North America and Europe—and Anderson said the band will likely continue playing live into 2026. After that, they’ll return to the studio to write the next chapter of the Hotline TNT story.
“We’ll probably take some more time on this next record, but we already have 3 – 4 demos written,” said Anderson. “I definitely have bigger ideas for this one. We are eager to keep building on this thing.”
Show Details:
Hotline TNT with Big Bite and Combat Naps
Where: Great American Music Hall
When: 8 p.m., Wednesday, September 24
Tickets: $28.50, available here.