Localized Hot Robots

Just like drinking beer and making out in the back seat, guitar pop boasts the sort of perennial popularity that’s made it a staple of being young, rowdy, and full of life. There’s a good chance that your parents were getting drunk and groping to the same rock albums that might be your soundtrack to this summer's debauchery. Had Hot Robots (playing tonight at the Hi-Dive) been around back then, Built To Tilt could have been a favorite of past generations' late-night celebrations.

This local band, however, doesn’t overdo things on its debut, but it still careens through enough power-pop checkpoints to almost guarantee Built To Tilt becomes a record geek’s fantasy: Big Star, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Who all play prominently into Hot Robots’ sound. The act’s traditional, if punky, streak doesn’t translate to rock conservatism, though. Built To Tilt has everything that’s eternally young and exciting about the genre, from the buzzing guitars and gooey backing vocals of the hookiest of British '77-era punk acts to the rough-around-the-edges charms that gave every band from Big Star to The Replacements its bite.

Even at Hot Robots’ loudest, “Travel” and “Break,” the group's wall of sharp, metallic guitar isn’t there to tear your head off, but get you up on your feet and dancing. A couple ballads, “Virginia” and “True,” give a breather amid the barrage of teenage kicks, but otherwise the disc is a feast of over-amplified guitars and soulful vocals that carries the weight of guitar-pop history without being burdened by it in the slightest.

Decider Grade: A-