Change brings opportunities as well as challenges and with the departure of their original bassist and the addition of multi-instrumentalist Dillon Home, Hotel Lux felt they needed time before embarking on the follow-up to their 2023 debut Homes Across The Creek. Their second album ‘The Bitter Cup’ is set for release on 14 November, and finds the band evolving their creative process. “The album was mostly written in a bar I ran in Peckham as we couldn’t afford a rehearsal space and the vast majority of the album was recorded live in just 4 very long days” says Home.
Opener ‘Encore’ feels like a bridge from Homes Across the Creek, until the track hits the midway point and comes to a shuddering halt. Exploring the problems of inter-generational divides, the lyrics see Lewis Duffin losing none of his observational wordsmith qualities. The title track follows, a cover of the Billy Childish song. “It’s the song that started the band really” says Duffin. “Given the the lyrical themes of the album, it seemed appropriate for us to return to this song. We recorded it in two takes having never played it together before and it just felt right.” It’s the first example on the album that sees the band pay homage to many of their cultural influences. ‘The Fear’ chronicles the internal conversations one might have while suffering from addiction. The instrumentation feels bolder and there is a hint of folk. But here’s the thing, this is not a track wallowing in despair but presenting hope in both its lightness of touch, yet acknowledging the difficult subject matter. Impassioned vocals, and retaining the wavering on the note absolutely key to the atmosphere of the track.
‘Joy’ is exactly that and is the very essence of Hotel Lux. Whip smart lyrics delivered at a rollicking pace. This is a band who appear to live in the present and have their eyes wide open to every detail of their experience. The social commentary is an utter delight and just listen to the fun Duffin is having delivering this song.
“I’ve found joy in this town,
Up to the common and back around.
The cities mine but its got me down.”
And then a complete shift, dare one say a hint of country with the opening bars of ‘Hand of Mine’. Duffin gives the lead singer reigns over to elsewhere in the band, another string to their bow. This track displays the aforementioned desire not to simply repeat album one, but to evolve. The “difficult” second album is perhaps not so much of a pressure nowadays. What appears more relevant, quite rightly, is artists desire to move forward, or even sideways perhaps. ‘Costermonger’ is a highlight. One of the delights of Hotel Lux is the lyrical content, however the instrumentation here sees an expansion of sound. Feeling bigger and bolder, the drumbeat holds together a conglomeration of parts which all work thrillingly together. Sadly the negative impact of gentrification is a common theme at present, such is its impact across the country.
Reviewing albums can unearth stories of individuals/situations previously unknown to us, artists using their creativity to educate. And so it is with ‘Song for John Healy’. Born in London to Irish parents he left school at 14 and went into the army where he had a successful boxing career. His life was later blighted by alcoholism and homelessness. Vagrancy laws meant he ended up in Pentonville prison where he learnt chess. He had a natural aptitude, gave up drinking and went to win 10 major championships. Hotel Lux honour the memory of this remarkable man with their story telling, shared as a lament and with their craft using the simplest of language to create the starkest imagery:
“They threw him into the nick
for the simple crime of kip.”
Hotel Lux decided to release ‘Another One Gone’ as the first single from The Bitter Cup. It highlights the heartbreak of specifically male mental health and suicide. Sombre, it shows the band will not turn away from the most difficult of subjects. Dripping with intensity it allows the instrumentation to express the sentiments. The longest track on the album, it is given the respect it deserves to fully express itself. Contemplative and questioning, it beautifully conveys the ripple effect on those left behind:
“Is there blood on my hands?
I don’t know I don’t know i don’t know”
‘Evelyn’ follows, with clinks of ice in a glass to start it is a soaring track which ebbs and flows, its emotional pull tugging back and forth. ‘Nod (To The Retrospect)’ ends the album on a lighter note with the two singers sharing vocal duties, exuding a sense of community, the importance of a group to share ones thoughts with.
Hotel Lux have always addressed challenging and difficult themes, but on The Bitter Cup, the group’s first entirely self-produced release, they have widened their soundscape. Still acknowledging the foundations of the band, a completely collaborative approach to writing has created a body of work with more ambition. Social commentary will always be at the heart of Hotel Lux but on this their second album they demonstrate a lack of fear in embracing the shifting sands of what is possible in their creativity.
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Review: 9 out of 10