I was worried this LP would never see the light of day. Hot Tip make the kind of gnarled, frantic punk that can turn sports bars and college house parties into radical American outposts. With Hold Me, Closely they’ve made a statement with the kind of depth and expressiveness you used to hear in a Fugazi record (Hold Me at times can feel like a companion piece to Steady Diet of Nothing). That they manage to fit so much texture and nuance and mood into seemingly uncomplicated two minute songs (see “Fiction” and “Neat Mess”) is remarkable. Who else is doing that? I think it’s just Hot Tip. –Matt Werts (Bitch Face, bitchfacerecords.storenvy.com / One Percent Press, onepercentpress.com / Radical Empathy)