Illuminati Hotties – Nickel on the Fountain Floor Review

What does Illuminati Hotties sound like?

Peppy tenderpunk that slaps with a wry smile and hope for the future.

The review of ‘Nickel on the Fountain Floor’ by Illuminati Hotties

Whilst their latest album is in my review backlog, last year’s ‘Power’ was further confirmation that Illuminati Hotties can mix pop, punk, joy, and sadness and wrap it up in a three-minute bow of clever rock. Front woman Sarah Tudzin radiates charm, sass, playfulness, and wit. Several albums in, it feels like we’re moving into the band’s expanding sound palette phase.

‘Nickel on the Fountain Floor’ is an EP of ideas, with only one song officially written during the ‘Power’ era that didn’t make the album. Instead of being leftovers, this is a band trying on slightly different outfits and working out how to customise them to their brand of alternative sass. It is a gleeful playpen of punky, emo rock with pillows. ‘777’ opens the record with a rock anthem about declaring love into the void. Sonically, we have tight chords but more psychedelic, fuzzy guitars that form a wall of sound. The production is unusual for Illuminati Hotties, but it works well because of Tudzin’s sympathetic vocals sounding a little lost in dreamland over the top. If the hotties want to go full shoegaze, this whets the appetite.

From there we hurl into ‘Wreck My Life’ feat PUP on vocals. This ‘Power’ offcut feels very 2001 punk pop in the best way possible. The short two-minute blast declares many ways to ruin your life and would make a perfect American Pie soundtrack setpiece. ‘Bright Sun’ is the most electronic Illuminati Hotties has ever sounded. Vocal filters pitch shift vocals over atmospheric boomy percussion, drifting bass, and glitchy synths. The dusty track has heavy air hustling around every pore of it, like a warped dystopian machine grinds to a halt. Lethargy has never sounded so syrupy.

‘Hollow’ is the slow-burning burn tendril rock ballad of the release. Tender, sensitive, rounded, at times almost brushed when it comes to the guitars, it’s a beautiful track. Exploring how trying to keep on top of everything can be so exhausting, the lonely and tired oohs over the metronomic synth plucks and guitars feel oddly cathartic. That leaves the rowdy trashing bubblegum punk of ‘Skateboard Tattoo’ to close out the album with big chords, catchy choruses, and a playful hook.

Despite covering a lot of ground in five tracks, this EP feels rounded and complete. Illuminati Hotties are clearly trying out some new ideas, but whilst the production or style may change, the heart and intent remain the same. There is a levity and ease with Sarah Tudzin’s music that slips the emotional waves in under the radar. You’ll feel upbeat, whilst acknowledging the shittiness of it all, and its ok to balance both. Illuminati Hotties continue to thrive as a wonderful cocktail of alternative music, and long may that continue.

Recommended track: 777

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