EHP 0.11: Hot Cross / Light The Fuse And Run split CDep/7" [ cdep out of print ] [ 7" out of print ] Pressing Information: [us pressing] 1,000+ CDs 300 orange 300 red 600 black HOT CROSS lashes out with 2 new songs that rock like the proverbial hurricane. This material is more expansive and refined than what "A New Set of Lungs" delivered, but no less biting. Definitley my favorite material of theirs. LIGHT THE FUSE AND RUN busts out with some truly ferocious shit that grabs you by the shorthairs and doesn't let up, and a little instrumental number. The CD version is enhanced with video footage of both bands. This was a split release with Level Plane. There are a few different versions of this record which are just about identical. A 7" version was released in Europe through Nova and a CDep version was released in Japan through Sonzai. In addition to all that, the pressing plant fucked up a bunch of these and pressed Hot Cross on both sides. The majority of those were sent back to the plant, but some were sent out by Ebullition packaged along with the correct version. TRACK LISTING: Hot Cross 1. The Eye Is A Tricky Machine 2. In Memory Of Movern Light The Fuse And Run 3. Ghosttown 4. Instrumentstwo REVIEWS: Collective online zine (Andy Malcom) Hot Cross were playing the songs from this when I saw them make kids dance like they were possessed by a multitude of arhythmical devils and demons in Germany. And those songs sounded so good. Yet committed to record, they sound even better. These two tracks, "the eye is a tricky machine" and "in memory of morvern", absolutely destroy and once again they join bands such as Yaphet Kotto and the Vida Blue in keeping this style of music new and innovative and so goddamn fucking exciting and thrilling. The songs are the perfect blend of killer guitar melodies that spiral around on the brink of chaos and insanity whilst the vocals are just poured out amidst desperate head clutching and t-shirt tugging. Writhe baby, writhe. Talk about upping the ante, this is top notch. For a feeble description, this is oh so original but I guess it is vaguely like Mohinder with Party of Helicopters riffage crossed with these folks previous bands (I won't insult your intelligence). And it detonates. And it goes off. I'm down, and you can find me flailing in the pit, sweating like a bastard. I enjoyed Light the Fuse and Run's CD. It's a collection of enthusiastic and eminently decent melodic hardcore. They are a good match for Hot Cross in that you could dance to them too, providing you weren't too overweight and had the energy. "Ghost Town" veers between brooding dark parts and explodes into finger pointy hardcore bits. It's like early Books Lie or Former Members of Alfonsin which is pretty fine in my books. Throw together some Mike Kirsch-y discordance, strong, yelled vocals and fun guitar riffing and you get LtFaR. This band oozes that enthusiasm and energy, which is what makes hardcore great. They also tack on a strange little instrumental which is very different, almost like something off a Songs: Ohia record I have, but without vocals. Interestin'. Fine, fine, fine split 7", definitely one of the best singles I have heard all year. Cross My Heart With A Knife online zine (Matt) Hot Cross, Light The Fuse And Run, a red 7" cover, a red 7" record... I had to go turn a fan on. You probably will too while listening to this. These two Hot Cross songs on the A side keep the same feel as their previous 10". The first song "The Eye Is A Tricky Machine" starts out with some light guitars but the drums beating away in the background pretty much key you in that its not going to stay that way for long. The song crashes in and starts going crazy but calms down again, keeping the same drum pattern as the lyrics are shouted and strained out. Then it stops for a twanging guitar and proceeds to go even faster, raising the proverbial bar on intensity. The second song, "In Memory Of Morvern" is more of the same feverish-paced music but this time we get dual vocals. It slows to a calm steady part after a minute which is reminisceant of something on a Saetia album. The song picks back up again and blazes away to the end with craze-y, jazz-y type guitars flailing around under the crunch of distortion and frenzied drums. It ends after seeming to go off for days in a slow somber outro. Light The Fuse And Run start the B side with "Ghost Town". It almost continues where Hot Cross left off, scorching and rocking. It goes and goes stopping only a short time for a chugging bass that turns to a lone muffled guitar. Their sound seems to be pretty influenced by straight ahead hardcore, in the vocals and in the music. "Instrumentstwo", the final song on the record, is an instrumental and is almost the total opposite of the three previous songs. The drums slowly beat along to a single country-esque guitar that jangles out a somber lonely song. There you have it. A fun -i have turn a fan on now- record which contains its own cooling device at the very end. Enough online zine (Jan) Having seen Hot Cross playing live in Trier/ Germany last year, but not remembering too much, this 7" gave me the chance bring their sound back to my mind. After having listened to their two songs, I can´t believed why I can´t remember them. Emotional Hardcore with lots of ideas and melodic guitar lines keeping everything tight and away from getting too chaotic and out of focus. After these two songs, Light The Fuse And Run take over. They´re exactly the right choice to make this 7" complete, pleasing me ears even more than Hot Cross. Rocking Hardcore with lots of drive. Maybe somewhere in between old Jr. Ewing and Torches To Rome (one of the best bands ever, by the way...). Even if the second song, an instrumental, isn´t as exciting, I´m already looking forward to the upcoming full length by LTFAR later this year on Level Plane! Nice one, available in Europe through Nova Recordings. poisonfree.com (Toby) so finally, this is the long awaited follow-up release to the superb 10inch and oh boy, how i was looking forward to that split single. and yet, i'm still excited about it! if i said it once i've said it thousand times, hot cross balances in a brilliant way two aspects of music which far too often interfere with eachother: emotion and precision. too often, screamo bands think playing fast and loud makes up for a lack of precision and emotion. i mean wow, the first notes of the two hot cross songs had a strong feeling of karate or forstella ford feeling in terms of precision and technique to it. the perfect blend of killer guitar melodies that spiral around on the brink of chaos while the vocals are just poured out in pure despair. those two songs are the most natural progression of the ten inch. i really doubt it but for those who are not that familiar with the band: hot cross play early gravity sounded hardcore with heaps of melodic guitar moments, no traces of metal whatsoever and most of all: sheer intensity. it offers a great variety from chaotic parts to beautiful melodic interlude passages. exciting and thrilling! richmonds light the fuse and run bust out with truly ferocious stuff that oozes that enthusiasm and energy which is to make this kind of music (i don't care how it's called) so great. their side of of this split is truly heartfelt punk rock and contains what is undoubtedly my favorite track by them. it's enthusiastic and eminently decent melodic hardcore that resembles bands alike born against, early books lie or former members of alfonsin. maybe add some torches to rome, if you like. non the less and is i already said, totally intense rockish high-energy hardcore with strong vocals, tight drumming and catchy riffs. in those terms, the second track is some kind of a letdown for it is a very different instrumental track which still is pretty good though but not especially what i expected. but that first track stays in my head long enough to make up for it. Delusion of Adequacy (Daniel N.) If Hot Cross and Light the Fuse and Run were ninja fighters in a tournament of champions, Hot Cross would be the small wily guy dancing around his opponent, doing backflips, leaping off walls and spin kicking everything in sight, while Light the Fuse and Run would be the Jean-Claude-Van-Damme-in-Lionheart type - cool and forceful, but attacking in just the right moments to win the battle. Hot Cross is such an amazingly tight band, all over the place with the off-kilter structures of their songs and a seemingly free form verse to their lyrics. While "The Eye is a Tricky Machine" and "In Memory of Morvern" aren't two of Hot Cross's best songs to date, they still show the stylistic fury of their sound. Yet lyrically they are as dead on as always with lines like "I'm failing to understand what I've never looked for over a shoulder, all the while overstepping the obvious, falling short of shame. Putting my hand over my heart, but forgetting it's name." Light the Fuse and Run's music is a bit more accessible for the genre, preferring this group solidarity to seemingly force the audience into getting into their music upon a first listen, then striking in just the right places for the kill. Towards the end of "Ghost Town," the band blasts through (and the audience will too) the lines "We marked our fucking town, we own your ghost town. I've got a secret: this is a call out," which will only entice the audience into all kinds of movement. Overall, Light the Fuse and Run may have won this round with a powerhouse track and a stylish instrumental, but Hot Cross has a full-length coming soon that should basically blow anything else out of the water. Lost At Sea (Mark Skipper) Actually a tandem release between Level Plane Records and The Electric Human Project, this split EP scoops a quick double dip of both band and offers the listener an intentionally tantalizing and ultimately unsatisfying sundae. The creamy soft-serve of Hot Cross - who are quick to impress with their technical merit - features Level Plane label manager Greg Drudy on drums and former members of such bands as Saetia, Off Minor, and You and I - bands who all happen to have releases available on the label, whose notoriety has been skyrocketing as of late. The band plays accomplished hardcore music with slick dynamic changes, charging drums, nimble bass lines, remarkably intelligible vocals - especially when compared to other bands in the genre, and an independent duel guitar attack out front. Light the Fuse and Run provide a denser barrage with "Ghost Town". Revealing the inspiration for their namesake, the track slams and chunks its way through its punk leaning hardcore with a "yeah!" shout-along anthem for backup vocals. Surprisingly, their last offering is a concise two-minute instrumental with a droning melody and acoustic guitars that manage to provide an oddly appropriate close to the recording. An all too brief introduction to both these bands, this 4-song, 10-minute EP hints at good things to come from both bands - Hot Cross’s second track "In Memory of Morven" also appears on their newly released LP Cryonics, while Light the Fuse and Run are now featured on another split EP with Level Plane’s Transistor Transistor. Short, but with enough substance to merit its existence, this split EP is an easy resource for gauging your interest in either of this bands with a nominal investment of time or cash.