This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Punk rock is sold as a grassroots movement, but let’s face it: Many if not most of the bands you hear hail from New York or Los Angeles. And sound like it.
Hot Water Music exist off the beaten track — in more ways than one. Geographically, they hail from the swamps of Gainesville, Fla. Musically, they’re all over the map. Over the course of about half a dozen albums in as many years, this aggressively wired quartet has forged an intense, individual style crossing punk, emo, riff-rock, heavy metal and even ska. The 40-minute A Flight & A Crash’s 14 songs deftly fuse rip-snorting guitars, heart-on-your-sleeve passion, ringing melodies, ragged Joe Strummer-like vocals and fist-pumping power into a short, sharp burst of white-hot defiance and idealism. Sometimes they remind you of The Clash. Other times it’s Fugazi. Either way, it beats listening to just another band from L.A.
