hotday

"Spreading their Celtic, reggae-tinged, down-home, stomping music out across the country, the band that played its first gig at a Lowell Folk Festival is no longer small-town. Selling out the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge for their fifth anniversary in January was proof they are expanding their fan base at home. Serendipitously, as Hot Day At The Zoo hits its stride, a renewed interest in roots music has taken hold across the country. Bands like Hot Buttered Rum String Band are heating up the national circuit with Hot Day in their wake."

"When we think of a hot day at the zoo, we picture lethargic animals and sweating visitors. But this Hot Day at the Zoo is very cool, and anything but lethargic. The frenetic foursome from Lowell peels off a gritty urban-bluegrass sound laced with folk, blues, ragtime, and jazz - a mix their fans call 'ZooGrass'."

"The new EP does show a creative leap from Cool As Tuesday. The sound is more diverse, and the arrangements are more tightly meshed. “Gypsy Moon (The Raven)” blends a theme of wanderlust with the supernatural inspiration of Edgar Allan Poe’s gothic masterpiece. Cleaves’s clip-clopping mandolin rhythm drives the story at a speedy, precise trot, and Dion’s vocal and harmonica nod toward the Minnesotan nicknamed Jack Frost. “Outside Looking In” is similarly Dylanesque, though it sounds as if moonshine were also a factor in its ragged-but-right performance. Cumming’s banjo comes to the fore in “The Wheel,” a road song that seems like an Appalachian version of the Buddhist cycle of life and death — though with, yes, a considerable helping of whiskey. And then there’s “Lost,” an up-tempo yarn of “a life gone wrong” that has the peppery spirit of an Irish drinking song."

“HDATZ sprawls and folds in plenty of flavors without making "polyglot" a necessary adjective. And the three-set show is their specialty: build momentum in the first, slay in the second, exhaust in the third. Everyone goes home tired and satisfied, and each song makes the beer taste a little bit better.”

“Coming from a state that managed to produce both New Kids on the Block and Aerosmith within the same ten mile radius, we should have been prepared for the day when four nice Massachusetts boys would rock out with bluegrass instruments and form a band that’s destined to become a powerful musical demigod: HOT DAY AT THE ZOO”

“Hard to believe a band with so much cracked corn soul is from Massachusetts. There’s homebrewed magic here and returning for more swigs has only convinced me further of its kick. Take notice, Hot Day is gonna be around for a while!”

Hot Day at the Zoo
“Long Way Home”

AUGUSTA, GA - Talk about progressive, Hot Day at the Zoo offers a dark and original version of traditional bluegrass with their sophomore EP "Long Way Home."

From the heart of Massachusetts, Hot Day at the Zoo has arrived on a stage spanning the eastern seaboard and as far west as Colorado, and in so doing, they have developed a reputation for heart-felt harmonies and eclectic rhythms spanning the chasm from traditional bluegrass to cutting-edge country music. In so doing, they provide an example of progression among the ranks of performers throughout the musical world.

Layered with intricacy and depth, Hot Day at the Zoo reminds listeners of the best Americana has to offer while exploring the ability to tell stories via melody that has seemed to be forgotten in most of the mainstream world. In this respect, their songs resonate with an experienced authority of humanity that fails to fall peacefully into any particular marketing orientation, which leaves enough freedom to captivate via storytelling of the finest ability.

The stories contained in this EP only leave one gaping concern in the minds of listeners – why only five? Aside from the lack of quantity, the composition here is impeccable for those in search of music that goes beyond the surface of things. From the opening chords of “Gypsy Moon,” the band opens a chasm in the heart with a deeply emotional call for a realization of the darker moments and their impact upon life. In the title cut, “Long Way Home,” the band begs for understanding and reconciliation through the metaphor of soldiers after a battle. The powerful images of “Lost” and “Outside Lookin’ In” provide a journey of examination of the world, the roads we traverse, and the impact of the self upon existence and passage in this land. Finally, the pure beauty and tribulation of life on the road finds a home in the homespun lyrics and intricate melodies of “Wheel.”

Intricately composed and built upon a foundation of deep lyrical constructions, the second EP by Hot Day at the Zoo is a hot item for the roots of the blue soul.