Beginning as a noisy, synth-based combo in 1999, Victoria, British Colombia's
Hot Hot Heat evolved into an aggressively catchy indie rock band two years later, when keyboardist
Steve Bays took on the vocal duties, and guitarist
Dante DeCaro joined their ranks. The group's new lineup -- which also featured founding members
Paul Hawley on drums and
Dustin Hawthorne on bass -- brought a newfound sense of melody and witty wordplay to their music, which they debuted on their 2002 EP
Knock Knock Knock. The EP, along with tours with groups like
the Walkmen and
the Dismemberment Plan, paved the way for the full-length
Make Up the Breakdown, which arrived in the fall of that year. An album of their earlier, noisier work, Scenes One Through Thirteen was also released on Ohev. The group rounded out a busy 2002 by signing to Warner Bros. shortly after
Make Up the Breakdown's release. After touring for most of 2003,
Hot Hot Heat spent the following year recording; that fall,
DeCaro left the group. However, his work appeared on the resulting album
Elevator, which Sire released in spring 2005. The album was nominated for a 2006 Juno Award, and that spring, the band -- which now included guitarist
Luke Paquin -- returned to the studio to record 2007's
Happiness Ltd. with producer
Rob Cavallo.
Parker Bossley was brought on board to play bass, and in 2008 and 2009, the band built their own studio and began recording their next album. Collaborating with
Limblifter's
Ryan Dahle as producer, they experimented with disco and electro influences on 2010's
Future Breeds. That year,
Bossley left and was replaced by Louis Hearn.
Hot Hot Heat started making their fifth album and released the song "Mayor of the City" in 2013, but soon went on hiatus. During their time off,
Bays started two new projects:
Mounties, which also featured
Dahle and singer/songwriter
Hawksley Workman, released the 2014 Polaris Music Prize-longlisted
Thrash Rock Legacy; and
Fur Trade, a collaboration with
Bossley that issued the album
Don't Get Heavy in 2013. In 2016,
Hot Hot Heat returned with the Record Store Day single "Nature of Things," as well as their final, self-titled album, which they recorded with
Dahle. ~ Heather Phares