Hotels

Hotels fuse elements of new wave, goth, and surf so seamlessly that genre tags will be the last thing on your mind when you hear their bittersweet, atmospheric pop songs. - Time Out New York

HOTELS

On its second effort, Where Hearts Go Broke, Hotels have really put together a record of cohesive '80s electro-pop. It's not just synths and no heart- there are some really great songs here. Think Depeche Mode.

-John Richards - Seattle Sound Magazine

Instant relief is provided by surprisingly good acts like Hotels, a band that will inspire those of you into sophisticated songwriting that also focuses on texture and arrangements... catchy keyboards and tiny guitars with a surf edge. Between The Magnetic Fields and Stereolab. - The Deli Magazine

Hotels have a surfy electronic industrial style to them that might
remind you of the 80s. Their latest album, Thank You For Choosing, though, as a whole, is impressive. You will find yourself picking out the various influences from Stereolab, Kraftwerk, to the B-52s, and at times, you think you hear sounds from obsolete synths from the 80s. Some of their music, like on the song “JT”, is beautifully ambient... Thank You For Choosing is worth a listen and their live show is quite impressive... - mysteryandmisery.com

by Nikki Benson aka Seattle Show Gal

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SOLD OUT!

I was wedged uncomfortably between people as I heard someone from behind say, “I didn’t know Hotels were this popular.” Neither did I to be honest. But, from being one in the crowd of many, here are a few reasons why I say their show was packed.

1) They’ve got the look!
Hotels take the visual appeal of their show to another level; they are all in uniform with name tags like real hotel staff! Now that type of thing might seem like a small aesthetic, but it goes a really long way. It showed they were having fun with their band title, and using it to draw the aspect of theatre into their live show. As a band, the effort you put into your live show honors your fans and shows appreciation that they came out as opposed to just listening at home. I really thought that was cool.

2) They’ve got the feeling!
From where I stood, the band seemed so excited! I could go on for days about the impact of stage presence. You can make the most intense sounding music, but if you look drab while you are playing it, not only does it look awkward but it makes me feel awkward watching. Hotels energy matched there music in a very endearing way. Their excitement made me excited in a way that added to the dimension and dynamic of the music.

Which leads me to, 3) they’ve got the music!
The online representation of Hotels is good; however seeing them live adds so much to it. The energy that they brought made what was impacting, explosive. Plus, Hotels approach to music has a nice vocal instrumental mix. Letting the vocals take the lead for a bit then letting the all of the other elements rise to the occasion really gives Hotels the space rock out and really get into the music. I know I did! - Seattle Show Gal

review by Philip LaRose

I first heard Seattle quartet Hotels when I happened to see them playing a show last August. I immediately fell in love with their music, clearly inspired by some of the great bands of the New Wave and post-punk genres but sounding as fresh and exciting as the pioneers they emulated. I went home with a copy of their first album Thank You For Choosing… and their music playing in my head. It wasn’t until the next show that I realized some of the songs I recognized as familiar favorites weren’t even on that first album; I was hearing them for only the second time ever, and yet they’d been in my head for weeks. That’s the kind of band Hotels is, and that’s what’s on their second album Where Hearts Go Broke, released as a digital download on Valentine’s Day, February 14, and available at Sonic Boom and Easy Street record stores in the Seattle area in the following week.

Hotels have a slogan of sorts, “Travel. Romance. Solitude. Rest…”, which aptly represents the various elements of their style, at times dreamy and distant, at times visceral and vital. Take the opening track and lead single, “Hydra”, with its ringing guitar line playing tag with the keyboard and bass, inviting you to get up and dance. This upbeat track is immediately followed by “Near The Desert, Near The City”, a slower wistful affair evoking distant landscapes and loneliness. Often the same song is both moody and body-moving: “Port Of Saints” speaks of feigned indifference to a lost relationship, but the driving beat reveals the drama the lyrics pretend to hide.

Throughout the album, the combination of beautiful guitar and keyboard melodies, complex bass lines, and solid drumming create a very rich, full sound. Lead singer Blake Madden’s dry, deadpan delivery is perfectly suited to the music, conveying either passion or dispassion in equal measure as appropriate. “Cafe Martinique” is a great example of how all the parts build up to a gorgeous whole. Where Hearts Go Broke is an excellent album from a rising band, and I expect to see Hotels get a lot of attention this year.

Hotels will be playing their CD release show at the Sunset Tavern on Friday February 20th, along with Point Juncture WA (who will also be celebrating their CD release) and The Animals At Night. - KEXP Blog

Hotels are one of the latest acts to join the Hidden Shoal family, making themselves right at home with their spacey sound. And when I say spacey, that’s exactly what I mean - this is pop made in outer space, sci-fi pop if you’re so inclined.

Album opener and first single “Hydra” sounds like an updated pop version of the theme to cult science fiction TV-show Lost In Space, while the lush “Near The Desert, Near The City” has us floating in weightlessness, and tunes like “Leilani” and “Port Of Saints” makes me imagine little green men dancing around.

Don’t get the wrong idea though - this isn’t strictly electronic music. While the synthesizers add that little extra sci-fi touch, so do the surf guitars, the thrumming bass and action drums. Picture a more cheerful Joy Division playing in a different galaxy and you might have some idea of what Hotels sound like. Where Hearts Go Broke has its somber moments as well though but overall it’s a pretty fast paced, not to mention fun album.

Where Hearts Go Broke is available through the HSR store and n5Mailorder as well as iTunes, Amazon and eMusic. - I Am The Crime Blog

Recent signees to the evergreen Australian imprint Hidden Shoal Recordings, New York/Seattle-based troupe Hotels burst into life with ‘Hydra’, an impossibly catchy, keyboard led single from forthcoming album “Where Hearts Go Broke” ( due for a Valentines Day release).

Featuring snappy percussion, sci-fi synths (think Grandaddy meets Stereolab) and a chorus that could fill Indie charts and dancefloors the world over, it’s strange for a song that tells the tale of a doomed romance to sound so quirky and irresistible. The collision of new-wave and dream-pop dynamics here, though, will have the pleasure endorphins accelerating up your spine towards your brain in no time.

Other tracks on their myspace profile suggest that this single is just one of the many guises used by Hotels, which piques the interest somewhat for the forthcoming long-player. ‘Hydra’, though, is smart, succinct, sassy and just that little bit special. - [Sic] Magazine Online

One could argue that the 80s have never been so prominent in the public conciousness as they are right now. My personal theory is that all of us 20-somethings have a certain nostalgia for the decade of our earliest years. We lived in the 80s, it’s true, but one could say we didn’t really live them- and yet it seems that their fashion, movies, and music have all come back into vogue. Could it be we’re all trying to live a little bit of the decade we were too young to truly experience the first time? I’m not sure, but it could help explain both the sound of Seattle’s Hotels and my affinity for their sophomore album, Where Hearts Go Broke.

If I had to describe Hotels, I’d have to recur to words like “spaced-out,” “poppy,” and “synthesizer,” and I’d be using these words, for the most part, positively. Though you can hear that the 80s had a strong influence on their sci-fi indie pop (they even have songs titles like “Flight of the Navigator”), I can’t quite say they sound like band X or Y. It’s pop, that’s for sure, and the flourishes and sounds give everything a dreamy touch without affecting the catchiness of it all. Since I picked this one up on Valentine’s Day I’ve found it to be a solid, throuroughly enjoyable album. Check out the album opener, “Hydra,” below, and feel free to head on over to Hidden Shoal records and their myspace to check out some more! - The Yellow Stereo Blog

From 'A memorable evening of Seattle rock with Altspeak, Erik Blood and Hotels'

"The third band to play was Hotels, who I’ve known casually for over a year but - have never seen outside of a show or club. They have an electronic, keyboard-heavy sound that seems influenced by OMD or Depeche Mode and whose singer, Blake Madden, reminds me an awful lot of Ian Curtis (at least his harmonies do) – albeit more stable and less self-destructive.

Hotels was the first band this night to get a few people dancing (although many more presumably would for Rourke’s set). They really have emerged as a very good and very consistent rock band. Their sound often has some surf guitar parts to compliment they keyboard parts. They had just gotten a new keyboard player (whose name I’m having trouble confirming online) who seems to have grown more confident as he’s spent more time in the band – and on stage. While seeming nervous at first, he started to get more comfortable on stage and the band got better and better. They finished around midnight, just as I had to run out the door to catch my bus home. "

-Chris B, Three Imaginary Girls - Three Imaginary Girls. Com