Inspired by gritty angst and passive-aggressive apologies, Melbourne’s sibling-fronted indie-rock trio Hot Glue have today released their latest single ‘Roadkill’, giving audiences another taste of their forthcoming record ‘Hatchet’.
Written by front-person Pearl Harnath, they penned the track in the wake of a breakdown of a relationship; one where they had gone to great lengths to try and fix. That feeling of abandonment and despondency drove Hot Glue to pull focus to the lyrics and Pearl’s vocal performance throughout the track, keeping instrumentation minimal and allowing the emotions behind the words to shine through.
Hot Glue worked out of St Kilda’s Hothouse Audio (Jet, Motorace, Ash Grunwald) to lay down not only ‘Roadkill’, but also their forthcoming album ‘Hatchet’. Pulling the song all together is bassist Lily Harnath’s harmonies, alongside drummer Henry Lucas’s pulsing beat, with the support it provides Pearl’s themes of loneliness throughout contrasting to the stark and isolated lyrics. Keeping it a family affair, the album was mixed and mastered by Craig Harnath, father of Pearl and Lily Harnath, an industry icon in his own right, having worked with Kylie Minoque, as well as Jack Howard and on Australian film ‘The Castle’.
The ‘Roadkill’ single is also accompanied with a music video, shot by Jack Pardy (Jayris and The Scum Covered Clouds, Good Sniff); the band’s first ever visual release for a track. Warm color-grades and a light vignette captures the band in a rural forest setting, performing ‘Roadkill’ and spending time together. The melancholy settings play a contrast to the dour lyrics.
Speaking about the new single, Peal added, “Roadkill feels like one of our angriest with its passive aggressive apologies and accusations. I wrote it at
a time where I felt distance growing in a relationship that I had wanted to work really hard to fix. It’s all about abandonment and loneliness and the lengths you’ll go to when you want to convince someone to forgive you.”
“The recording of Roadkill felt very intuitive. We wanted to keep it simple, since the lyrics in this single are the focus for us. The moment it seemed to all come together for me was when we added Lily’s harmonies. Contrasting to the themes of loneliness in the lyrics, the two vocals supporting each other in that second verse have a huge impact.”
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