Alan Hawkshaw / Brian Bennett / John Fiddy - Hot Wax LP

Be With Records presents a reissue of Alan Hawkshaw/Brian Bennett/John Fiddy's Hot Wax, originally issued in 1976. Hot Wax is an assured KPM masterclass from a dream team line-up of Bennett, Hawkshaw and Fiddy. This is what happens when all three decide to explore the latest trends in production music. The latest as of 1976, of course. Fiddy's numbers are sumptuous, string-led and light. Floaty soft-psych underpinned by a solid groove, particularly on "Taste For Living" and "Fresh Start". If one is into Koushik and those early Manitoba/Caribou records -- and one should be -- these will be appreciated. The Bennett and Bennett/Hawkshaw stuff is on another level. "Capitol City" oscillates between driving funk and downbeat sentiment. "Name Of The Game" is tough, smokin' funk, famously sampled in 2007 by Madlib for Percee P's "Who With Me". "Bop On The Rocks" knocks hard and "Full Throttle" features a guitar solo with some of the nastiest, about-to-explode fuzz one is ever likely to hear. B