The Hot Toddies

The Hot Toddies are four fun loving, sun chasing California girls whose sophomore effort, Get Your Heart On, sounds just like it should by these standards. The ever-present theme of looking to score drugs and swig whiskey on the beach may lead you to believe that the album will make its way into grunge or garage territory, given the band's Bay area roots, but you're more likely to find yourself confused over how you wound up listening to doo-wop-y, upbeat beach music charting Josie and the Pussycats territory. Things don't ever get that bad, thanks to a rhythm section that know where they came from, particularly on "Max's Mankini" and "Matt Skiba Sandwich," a minute-long beckoning for a threesome with the Alkaline Trio singer. Even on highlights such as these and "Boys on Bikes," the four-part harmonies, as sweet as they sound, fail to catch up with the gritty attitude so clearly laid out for them by their lyrics. "I'm a bloodsucking, fucking vampire" is assured throughout the chorus of "Keep on Runnin' (The Vampire Song)," but the delivery sounds as scary as a small child in a Dracula costume trick-or-treating at your door while their parents keep a watchful eye from a safe distance. "Only With You" claims it wants Jameson, but actually means Smirnoff Ice ― two bottles, at most. It's for this reason that the comparisons to fellow Californians Best Coast are unwarranted. That's not to say that this is a poor album; it's not. It just lacks that attitude it wants you to think it has.