Hotel Mira’s brand new album ‘Pity Party’ is a visceral, emotionally-charged triumph that smashes through indie rock conventions with stylish ferocity and precision.
From its first note, the record commands attention, its razor-sharp guitar riffs and dynamic vocal turns create a soundscape that’s at once polished and raw, chaotic and controlled. It’s a rollercoaster of feelings and sonic textures, echoing frontman Charlie Kerr’s thematic intent; to explore the emotional whiplash between euphoric highs and crushing lows.
The LA-based quartet consisting of Kerr, guitarist Clark Grieve, bassist Mike Noble, and drummer Cole George craft a sound that’s richly layered and undeniably tight. The band has a knack for balancing slick, anthemic hooks with moments of surprising intimacy. Grieve’s guitar work is especially impressive, weaving between punchy power chords and shimmering leads that elevate each track beyond standard alt-rock fare. Paired with George’s explosive drumming and Noble’s rumbling basslines, the album pulses with urgency and energy.
Kerr’s vocals are the linchpin of ‘Pity Party’s emotional punch. His voice soars, cracks, and contorts to fit each track’s shifting moods, swaggering with attitude one moment, spiralling into vulnerability the next. There’s never a dull or predictable moment, ‘Made For This’ is the stadium rock-surprise we longed for, while ‘Melissa’ is the frantic The Vaccines-esque anthem we didn’t know we needed. ‘Javelin’ and ‘Stones Throw’ hint at heavier influences with darker coloured soundscapes a la Queens of the Stone Age and Royal Blood.
Thematically, ‘Pity Party’ captures the restless inner conflict of modern living, the duality of indulgence and regret, confidence and self-doubt. Kerr’s lyrics are self-aware and sardonic, yet emotionally direct, tapping into that universally human sensation of being pulled between extremes. ‘Pity Party’ feels like a diary scrawled during both the height of a party and the low of its aftermath. This new Hotel Mira material shows greater depth, offering subtle shifts in structure and tone that showcase a band evolving rapidly. There’s a looseness to the energy on this collection of tracks that makes it feel completely alive.
While the band clearly understands how to deliver glossy, riff-driven bangers such as ‘On And On’, they also inject enough personality and risk to make their work feel necessary rather than derivative. This is music with heart, edge, and a message. Hotel Mira cements themselves as one of the most exciting acts straddling the Atlantic alt-rock scene today. It’s a record that doesn’t just ask for your attention, but demands it.
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