Biography
Hot Flash Heat Wave first drew widespread notice from across the country in 2015 when their fuzzy surf-pop cut “Gutter Girl” anchored the San Francisco band’s debut album Neapolitan. Featuring three capable singer/songwriters, the quartet followed that breakthrough with their 2017 sophomore LP Soaked, steering their sound toward a gentler indie-pop aesthetic. After exploring lush dream-pop textures on the Mood Ring EP in 2019, they pivoted the next year toward brighter, more direct guitar pop on the single “Grudge.”
Childhood friends Adam Abildgaard (vocals, guitar), Nathaniel Blum (vocals, guitar), Ted David (vocals, bass), and Nick Duffy (drums) first bonded over music while attending high school in Davis, California, where they cycled through assorted D.I.Y. outfits before scattering to different colleges. The four reconvened in San Francisco in 2015, moved into a shared house, and began operating as a band in earnest. Their scruffy yet melodic debut full-length Neapolitan surfaced later that same year, its lead track “Gutter Girl” helping them secure footing inside the Bay Area’s indie circuit.
After signing to Oakland’s OIM Records, HFHW issued Soaked in 2017, tightening arrangements and favoring a smoother dream-pop approach. West Coast support dates alongside Alvvays, Day Wave, and Mild High Club soon followed, as did the group’s first national tour. Early 2018 brought a personnel shift when Ben Briggance replaced Duffy behind the kit; the revised lineup then released the singles “Glo Ride” and “Dreaming of U,” underscoring HFHW’s increasingly polished leanings. The woozy “Head in the Clouds” from the 2019 Mood Ring EP earned notable streaming traction, yet 2020 found the band returning to punchier guitar-driven material with the release of “Grudge.”
Childhood friends Adam Abildgaard (vocals, guitar), Nathaniel Blum (vocals, guitar), Ted David (vocals, bass), and Nick Duffy (drums) first bonded over music while attending high school in Davis, California, where they cycled through assorted D.I.Y. outfits before scattering to different colleges. The four reconvened in San Francisco in 2015, moved into a shared house, and began operating as a band in earnest. Their scruffy yet melodic debut full-length Neapolitan surfaced later that same year, its lead track “Gutter Girl” helping them secure footing inside the Bay Area’s indie circuit.
After signing to Oakland’s OIM Records, HFHW issued Soaked in 2017, tightening arrangements and favoring a smoother dream-pop approach. West Coast support dates alongside Alvvays, Day Wave, and Mild High Club soon followed, as did the group’s first national tour. Early 2018 brought a personnel shift when Ben Briggance replaced Duffy behind the kit; the revised lineup then released the singles “Glo Ride” and “Dreaming of U,” underscoring HFHW’s increasingly polished leanings. The woozy “Head in the Clouds” from the 2019 Mood Ring EP earned notable streaming traction, yet 2020 found the band returning to punchier guitar-driven material with the release of “Grudge.”
Albums
Singles
