Hot Congress Vol. 1
Is giving a favorable review to a compilation by Hot Congress—a loose collective founded because its members felt overlooked in the Mile High music underground—a vindication of everything the group stands for, or just a case of someone swooping in to co-opt its success once the time is right? It’s a lesson this group of bands will probably have to ruminate over now that forever-delayed Hot Congress Vol. 1 is finally out: It’s been increasingly difficult to ignore Congress (thanks in part to those damned rainbow-colored stickers plastered all over the bathrooms of every venue in town) as its members honed their craft.
The 11-artist collection is more than a little schizophrenic, spanning everything from The Pseudo Dates’ retro-psychedelic sunshine on "Songbirds” to The Jim Jims’ muscles-meets-Joy Division noise track, “Horny.” But the collection isn’t pieced together to massage your ears as much as to help the group establish a presence. That said, there are a few of D-town’s best singles of 2009 contained herein. The Kissing Party’s “I Just Want To Get Out Of This Body” (which already appeared on this year’s The Hate Album) wraps up the sort of boy-girl bedroom jangle that’s been a staple of indie pop for more than a decade with pride. Action Friend gets rowdy on the noisy, experimental “Aren’t You Scrumptious?” and Breakfastes somehow figure out to worship at the altars of both Jimi Hendrix and Sonic Youth without blaspheming either.
Hot Congress Vol. 1 isn’t without its rough spots, of course—particularly Ken Arkind’s overstuffed spoken-word interlude “Maggie," plus the lack of an artistic tie for this group of bands, outside of their mutual apprehension and disdain for Denver scene politics. Brace yourselves, members of Hot Congress—you might just get a lot more involved in the underground once this album makes the rounds, whether you like it or not. Grade: B
