REVIEW: HOTLINE TNT @ ARTS AT ARMORY 4/11

Photo by Wes Knoll

Review by Miguel Gonzales

Hotline TNT playing at the obtuse-shaped, very artisanal Arts at the Armory is too on-brand. 

Indie kids decked out in band tees, dad hats, mustaches and mullets, fleece jackets, and Soloman hiking shoes gathered at the historic Somerville arts venue on Thursday evening to see the New York outfit. The crimson red drapery contrasted with the fun, do-it-yourself punk weirdos, making for a unique experience and electrifying night. 

Embarking on a North American tour, Hotline TNT stopped by Boston on April 11th, one of their last stops. The band is coming off their critically acclaimed 2023 album “Cartwheel,” released on Jack White’s Third Man Records – one of my favorites from last year.

Will Anderson, the vocalist of Hotline TNT’s ferocious and slacker finesse, ruptures throughout the record. The effortless combination of noisy, blown-out guitar work and pop-influenced touches in the album’s runtime makes for one of the year’s most exciting listens. 

Their performance in Somerville is just as thrilling, too.

Before Hotline TNT’s performance, two hardcore bands opened the show. The Massachusetts trio Rabid Few and Richmond, Virginia, four-piece outfit Cicada got some energy from the crowd.

Rabid Few’s set was aggressively chill – the crowd standing still for the most part. The vocalist’s witty presence and the members’ fast-paced, intense playing were some of my favorite bits from their brief, less than 10-minute set. Paolo’s cheeky comment referring to the venue’s on-speaker introduction as their intro song to his love for Italian hardcore was pretty funny. 

“This is for all you Pisanos,” Paolo said before the band jumped into playing a song.

Compared to Rabid Few, Cicada’s set was the aggression I needed to start the night. The Richmond band had a fiery set, the vocalist’s grunting and low-pitch growls complementing the killer, high-tempo percussion and distorted, noisy acoustics. The vocalist’s stage presence was pivotal, too—the frenetic hopping, clenching, and swinging of his fists in the air had me engaged. 

A few of the audience members began moshing, and so did I – their thundering set warranting it.

Hotline TNT came on stage after thirty minutes of listening to an intermission playlist filled with bangers, ranging from Yeat to Travis Scott to PinkPantheress. The band walking out to Playboi Carti’s “Location” is a contender for one of the year’s calmest and effortlessly cool stage entrances.

The set opened up with “Protocol,” the band building up the audience’s excitement by repeating the song’s introduction for a few minutes. Each band member joins in slowly, playing their refrains until the heavy percussion immediately comes in. Anderson’s catchy hooks float on top of the explosive and dynamic instrumentation, the audience bobbing their heads along to the music or teenagers pushing each other around.

The band played a few more songs from their latest album, energetic cuts such as “Out of Town” and “I Thought You’d Change,” engrossing the audience enough that the artisanal space became a full-fledged, explosive celebration. Their prior material made the setlist as well, tracks such as the anthemic “Are U Faded?” and an unreleased powerhouse entitled “Antonio.”

Their stage banter was hilarious. Anderson pointed out an audience member in the front making fun of his shoes. Anderson referred to them as the “Stewie Griffin shoes,” another bandmate calling his shoes the “Stewie 1s.” I don’t think anyone heard the bandmates’ joke, but it was good. Anderson’s casual approach to persuading the audience to get hyped is admirable—his quip on stage diving was really funny in particular.

“I’m not encouraging or discouraging anybody from stage diving,” Anderson told the audience.

After a thirty-minute set and a surprise encore, Hotline TNT provided an exhilarating, satisfactory time. Their explosive material translates well with their live performance, which is very tight-knit and just all too fun. The swirling and searing guitar tones, Anderson’s lovey-dubby vocals, and power-pop anthems make them a band you need to see.

“If you’re secretly mad in love with someone here, you should tell them after this song,” Anderson said.