CDVS: Hot Water Music Vs. Stevie Wonder

If the music industry had its way, buying albums would be like washing hair: Buy, listen, repeat. But thanks to the fickle--often irrational--taste of the public, bands are forced to constantly evolve in an endless quest for artistic relevance. Not that they have to reinvent the I-IV-V chord progression or anything, they just have to create music that's nuanced enough to feel new and different. Think of it as musical Darwinism: Ministry becomes Nine Inch Nails becomes Marilyn Manson. James Brown becomes George Clinton becomes Andre 3000. And the beat goes on and on until the break of dawn.

This can be a bitch for established bands, who also have to worry about alienating their existing fan base. It's a quandary perfectly expressed in the title of Hot Water Music's sixth longplayer, The New What Next. Of course, it's no surprise that the Gainesville, Fla., quartet would be so sensitive to its tenuous predicament. The band has always sounded like a jock who keeps a journal--brutish but surprisingly earnest at the same time. Last year's Caution was a watershed; it marked the band's transition from a workaday rock 'n' roll band to a punk juggernaut. The New What Next furthers that development, alternating between moody emo anthems ("Poison," "The Ebb and Flow") and fists-in-the-air guitar riots ("The End of the Line," "This Early Grave").

On top of the conversion from afro to braids, Stevie Wonder also underwent drastic changes during his first decade in the music biz. When he started performing at age 11, he was little more than a novelty act. His second album, Tribute to Uncle Ray, billed him as "the new Ray Charles"--primarily because he was blind and black and a competent piano player. Never mind that he didn't have Charles' pipes; people love child performers. They're like miniature adults without all the emotional baggage. Music of My Mind, however, marked Wonder's sonic puberty. With its masterful blend of synthesizers and organic instrumentation, it proved to be an R&B landmark. On the strength of the spacey funk workout "Superwoman," Music of My Mind didn't just satisfy the public's taste; it defined it. In that sense, Wonder is the real groundbreaker. Hot Water Music may be the chest-thumping gorilla that evolved a bigger brain, but Stevie Wonder is the fish that developed lungs and crawled onto land.--Newt Briggs