Hot Mud - Rehab Rock
Self-Released
Released March 1st, 2024
So, there’s this guy, Muddy Watters - aka Hot Mud - and he wrote and recorded a rock and roll record entirely in rehab while recovering from addiction. That’s right, it’s literally Rehab Rock. The whole record is all about drugs and alcohol, hard living, withdrawal, and the incredible challenges that go along with recovery and sobriety. Every song dives right in - there’s well placed imagery and metaphor for sure - but there’s never any question that what we’re dealing with is addiction and recovery, self loathing and self love. So that’s the elevator pitch. Is it raw? Yep. Gritty? You bet. Poignant? Absolutely. So it must sound pretty sad, right? Kind of a downer? Well, actually, it’s kind of a bop.
Ranging across subgenres like classic rock, disco, psychedelic rock, and synth pop (among many others), Rehab Rock provides sweeping anthems, heartfelt dirges, fuzzy ballads, and sweaty polyrhythmic grooves. Hot Mud has a clever ability to channel the sonic energies of some of rock’s most endearing influences and personalities while remaining totally authentic and original. At turns we get hints of Tom Petty, Ray Davies, or Jarvis Cocker. It’s a little Elliot Smith, and a little Lou Reed, and a little Bowie, and a little bit just its very own thing. With a refreshing abundance of creative energy, Hot Mud has created a record that is catchy and poignant. It sounds as though he put his whole being into Rehab Rock, which, given the set and setting of the album, he probably did.
Rehab Rock is the epitome of a DIY project, with the entire record being written and recorded by the artist while in a treatment facility in a “room the size of your mother's closet”. This intimacy and invitation into the literal and metaphorical recovery room provides a beautiful and rare glimpse into the inner world of hurt and healing that we don’t usually get to see (or hear). It’s real and heartbreakingly honest - direct, weighty, and evocative, immersing the listener in the experience of what addiction can do to a human soul. But for an album with lyrics as bleak as “I don’t want to kill myself / But I don’t care if I die” (on Self Destruct), Rehab Rock is immensely listenable and daresay even hummable. It is indeed full of tragedy, but it is also playful and experimental, and often very funny (check out Birthday in Rehab). The balance between despair and joyful absurdity brings the listener into the complex and multifaceted reality of Hot Mud’s lived experience and dynamic healing journey. Whether you’ve ever experienced addiction and recovery or not, we all know that in the darkest times sometimes the line between weeping and laughter gets pretty blurry. By attending to the entire messy spectrum with tenderness and humanity, we get a very honest and human record that is both witty and cathartic. I hope we get to hear more from Hot Mud as the healing continues.
- Chris Lammiman