Heirs Apparent

posted in: Artist Features • Rock

When you’re the sons of acclaimed musicians and are surrounded by industry pros, success can be hard to avoid. Take Nashville’s Hot Chelle Rae, for example. All four members have parents with either Number 1 hits or GRAMMY nods. Not bad DNA to start with. Throw in some guidance from ex-Sony chairman Don Ienner and the production skills of veteran producers Eric Valentine (Good Charlotte, All-American Rejects) and Butch Walker (Katy Perry, Pink) and you’ve got yourself a pretty solid formula for fame. What’s that? Oh, the music? It’s as good as you’d expect with that sort of pedigree ” big, bold production, aggressive hooks, propulsive rhythms. If your first introduction to Hot Chelle Rae is I Like To Dance you’ll be clamoring for more. The metallic scrape of guitars gives way to crunching dance rock, relentless and infectious. Power ballad lovers will dig The Distance with its salvo of guitars and soaring chorus. But for those who want a solid thrashing, tracks like Problematique and Say (Half Past Nine) deliver in spades. Urgent, jolting, snotty and strident, this is the kind of music kids will want to blast to piss off their parents. Right before following in their footsteps. Check out the video for their current single “Bleed” below.