Hot Rod Circuit

Hot Rod Circuit are a four-piece emo/indie band from Auburn, Alabama that formed in 1997. They initially went by the name Antidote and released one album before changing the name and becoming the iteration of the band we know today. They quickly released two full-lengths in 1999 and 2000 respectively, both via Triple Crown Records. They switched to Vagrant Records for their following full-length, Sorry About Tomorrow. This included some of their most well-known tracks, particularly its opener "The Pharmacist". After another two albusm, the band broke up in 2007 after a solid ten years of activity. They weren't gone for long, as they reformed briefly in 2011, and then came back in semi-full force in 2014. Since then, they have played shows sporadically, with a few coming in January 2024.

I'll fully admit that this is one band I have not given nearly enough time to. They've been requested for years, and sit comfortably amongst the likes of Piebald, Braid, The Anniversary, The Get Up Kids, and Jimmy Eat World. I really haven't delved any deeper than cursory listens beyond If I Knew Now What I Knew Then and Sorry About Tomorrow. Both of those are solid, though didn't quite click the same way some of the aforementioned bands did. I still like and have an immense respect for them, and consider them one of the handful of major emo acts I have yet to cover here. So here they are, in all their glory. Enjoy!

Hot Rod Circuit (1999)

1. Very Best Friend

2. Slacker

3. Blurry 17

4. Hi-Tech Lipgloss

5. Richard Simmons

If I Knew Now What I Knew Then (1999)

1. Weak Warm

2. Irish Car Bomb

3. Slacker

4. Remover

5. Chemistry

6. Medicated Lungs

7. Achy Breaky Hockey Hair

8. Good Intentions

9. Chinese Cuts

10. Low

If It's Cool With You, It's Cool With Me (2000)

1. Radio Song

2. Supersad

3. Two Hand Touch

4. The Power Of The Vitamins

5. Cool With Me

6. Versatility

7. This Is Not The Time Or Place

8. Smithsonian Lover

9. Flight 89 (North American)

10. You Kill Me

11. What's Left Standing

The Anniversary/Hot Rod Circuit (2000)

1. The Anniversary - To Never Die Young

2. Hot Rod Circuit - This One's For Randy

Sorry About Tomorrow (2002)

1. The Pharmacist

2. At Natures Mercy

3. Radiation Suit

4. Safely

5. Now Or Never

6. Cool For One Night

7. Knees

8. Let's Go Home

9. Consumed By Laziness

10. Get What You Get

11. The Night They Blew Up The Moon 

Been There, Smoked That (2002)

1. Very Best Friend

2. Slacker

3. Blurry 17

4. Hi-Tech Lipgloss

5. Richard Simmons

6. Sadie Hawkins

7. Understood

8. Grocery Store

9. The Greatest Disappointment

10. Master Control Program

11. Power Of Vitamins (Live)

12. This One's For Randy (Live)

13. Hi-Tech Lip Gloss (Live)

14. Patty Hearst Machine Gun (Fudge cover)

15. Sin City (AC/DC cover)

Reality's Coming Through (2004)

1. Inhabit

2. Save You

3. Fear The Sound

4. Cheap Trick

5. Failure

6. Tell The Truth

7. Unfaithful

8. The Best You Ever Knew

9. Crossbow

10. Riding The Low

11. Moonlight Sunlight

A Santa Clause: It's A Punk Rock Christmas 2 (2006)

9. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon cover)

The Underground Is A Dying Breed (2007)

1. Stateside

2. Vampire

3. Battleship

4. What We Believe In

5. 45's

6. Holding On To Nothing

7. US Royalty

8. Ventricle

9. Spit You Out

10. Cali

11. 6-8

The Underground Is A Dying Breed Acoustic EP (2007)

1. 45's

2. Battleship

3. Camo

4. Stateside

5. U.S. Royalty

Punk Goes Crunk (2008)

13. Gin & Juice (Snoop Dogg cover)

Hot Rod Circuit (2011)

1. Forgive Me

2. Into The Sun

3. Sucked Out

Default Setting (2017)

1. Default Setting

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