Hot Face perform at Burdall's Yard, Bath, for Independent Venue Week 2026. Supported by Brighton’s Oral Habit and Skinner
Hot Face are a garage-punk three-piece hailing from South London. Initially born out of a series of bedroom demos by guitarist/vocalist James Bates, joined by bassist George Cannell and drummer/vocalist Sam Catchpole, Hot Face released their debut single 'dura dura' via Speedy Wunderground in 2023 - followed by their sophomore single '17 Day Migraine' in 2024. During this period Hot Face toured the UK and Europe, having appearances at several showcase festivals such as Down The Rabbit Hole, Manchester Psych Fest and Left Of The Dial. In November 2024 Hot Face were invited by Dan Carey to record a live album at Abbey Road, a one-day event that unfolded in front of an audience and was recorded direct to tape. Hot Face will release their single 'Pink Liquor' on November 13th, with the full live album to follow thereafter.
Skinner is the project of the Dublin-based multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer Aaron Corcoran who was inspired by the New York No Wave scene in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s for this debut record. ‘New Wave Vaudeville’ references the New Wave Vaudeville music variety freak show that took place at the 57 Club in New York from 1978 to 1983. The club was known for its free-form art shows, a debaucherous wild riposte to creeping commerciality of modern culture of the time, an era that perfectly reflects the rambunctious nature Skinner has brought to this new collection.
Brighton has no shortage of lysergic left-field rock bands. But while most of their local contemporaries tend to the more recumbent end of the psychedelic spectrum, Oral Habit deal in what they call “the ear-rattling psychic dream of choked-up acid punks”, a sound that feels overpowering, explosive and intense: you could say it’s more closely aligned to the disoriented racket of mid-60s freakbeat than the pie-eyed beatitudes of the Summer of Love; equally you could suggest it’s a very contemporary form of psychedelia, rebooted for the troubled, disturbing climate of 2025.