We love these chords: Complete respect for Hot Water Music’s Caution

By Jason Schreurs and Greg Pratt

Hot Water Music. Three seemingly simple words. When combined, they create the name of one of the best punk/melodic hardcore bands ever created. Ask either of us about this band, and we’re sure to rave on with maniacal grins on our faces about how much we absolutely adore everything this band has done.

Ultimately, the one-sided and obsessed conversation will land on their 2002 album, Caution. Released on punk biggie Epitaph Records (the band’s second album with the label), Caution was a perfectly flowing, positive punk/hardcore rallying cry with the contemplation and smarts of a band who had already paid their dues tenfold by this, their album number five.

Made up of vocalists/guitarists Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard and the steady-as-she-goes rhythm section of bassist Jason Black and drummer George Rebelo, Hot Water Music have become a indescribably important part of our lives. And when we’re feeling down, or need that extra boost of inspiration, it’s Caution that we reach to first.

It’s a true Classic Platter, and one of the best punk albums ever put to tape.

Jason: Hot Water Music’s Caution has been one of the most important albums in my life, and it’s kind of strange because I first heard it through you around the time it was released. And I’ve got a bone to pick with you, actually, because you gave me a dubbed tape copy of it with all of the songs in the wrong order. It wasn’t the proper track listing at all!

Greg: Whoah, sorry about that! [Laughs]

Jason: So, for the first couple of years of having this album I was stoked and I loved it, of course, but then I ended up getting a legitimate copy of it later and it was a different track listing altogether and I was totally thrown. It took me many years to get that right in my mind. But those alternate track listing memories have now vanished and this album is, I think, Hot Water Music’s best album, and they’re one of my favourite bands, so definitely a Classic Platter that’s been up there for me since I first heard it in 2002.

Greg: Yeah, for many, many years it was my favourite Hot Water Music album. These days I go back and forth between The New What Next and Caution, but either way they are both amazing albums. I’ve loved Hot Water Music since day one and by the time they got to Caution they had totally, absolutely, 100 percent perfected and nailed down the sound they’d been working towards all along. And I loved the early albums at the time they came out, but I hardly ever go back and put on those albums now. By the time they got to Caution, it was just this perfect sound. It’s just a perfect punk rock album.

Jason: Yeah, for sure, and one of the big things about it is maybe on previous Hot Water albums, they didn’t have such a handle on the sequencing of the songs, but this album is perfectly flowing. I mean, you start it off with “Remedy,” and again going back to the bone I have to pick with you, the version I have that you gave me on some shitty dubbed tape, it actually started with one of the slower songs, I think it was “It’s All Related,” but, anyways, starting this album out with “Remedy” and then right into “Trusty Chords,” that’s got to be one of the best one-two punches ever. And this album was definitely these guys really finding themselves as songwriters and album writers, and from then they just kept getting better and better.

Greg: The thing I love about Caution is this is the point in Hot Water Music’s career where they really learned about holding back and restraint, whereas the earlier stuff was more about a bunch of sweaty men, rolling around on the basement floor, or screaming, like, “We’re on the rooftops and everyone is singing along,” and that over-the-top energy was great, but by the time Caution came around, they were a bit more restrained and harnessed. And the vibe of the album has this amazing feeling. It’s not totally screaming and over the top; it’s just on the edge of that crazy energy, and I’m going to sound like a hippy here, but it’s just got this crazy energy to it, where it’s just about to explode, and it doesn’t, and I’ve always loved that about this album. It’s just right there, and it’s just perfect, if that makes any sense?

Jason: It does make sense. And the song “Alright for Now” is the perfect example of that. It’s the longest song they wrote on here at just under four minutes, and it’s got that bubbling, seething energy that never quite boils over to the surface, and it’s just awesome. What’s that one line, “How was your weekend?”

Greg: Oh, I love that line!

Jason: That’s one song that I’ve listened to so much that it’s hard for me to listen to it now, because it just brings up all of these emotions. Sometimes I just skip it because it’s too intense. But another strange thing about Caution is there are songs on this album that you don’t even know the names of that are just such good songs. “One Step to Slip,” “The Sense,” even the last one, “The End,” you’d probably never hear the band play those at a live show, or you’d never hear someone say, “Oh, yeah, my favourite Hot Water Music song is…” but those songs are just amazing. So, it’s more an album than it is just a collection of songs, although there are two or three songs on here that are considered their staples.

Greg: Some of these songs I can assume have been left by the wayside, like “We’ll Say Anything We Want” is one of my favourite Hot Water Music songs. “Not for Anyone”… I mean, these are great, great songs that I get the feeling have been sort of forgotten. But it is really a complete album, and there’s not really a dud on here. Every single song, when it starts out, I’m like, “Oh yeah, fuck! This song!” Probably my least favourite song is “Remedy.” I have skipped “Remedy” from time to time. I love it now, but there was a phase where I’d skip it now and again.

Jason: Wow, really? I can’t get enough of that song.

Greg: But, yeah, every song is a total winner. The production is great; it’s punchy and it’s not extreme. It just nice and smooth. And great playing; the drumming is always fantastic to listen to and was really good, in particular, on this album. Again, it’s restrained and George is just back there doing what he does… But, god, this is a good album.

Jason: However, I can’t say that this album really solved the whole who-sings-on-what-song mystery that we always deal with, where we’ve never been able to quite figure out on any given Hot Water Music song who it is that’s singing, and if there’s someone out there that knows how to decipher that for us, it would be much appreciated. Send us some notes or something, because it drives me crazy!

Greg: Yeah, you could hear on the earlier albums, “Okay, there’s the guy with the gruff voice, and there’s the guy with not-so-gruff voice.” But as they went into their Epitaph years, Chuck’s voice got a bit less gruff and Chris’ voice got a bit more gruff, so at this point on Caution I’ll be like, “Oh, there’s Chuck,” but then Chuck will join in. [Laughs] Not that it matters, but…

Jason: Oh, it does matter! And someone out there has these notes that they can share with us and make our lives so much easier. It’s the only thing that distracts me from fully enjoying this band. And then you see them live and you think it will all make sense, but then you get distracted and forget. But back to the album; it doesn’t seem like it now, but wasn’t this their push album at the time, like Caution was going to make them one of the biggest punk bands at the time? And it did really well and was an amazing album, but I think by the time The New What Next hit, that album was just so weird for them, where they were exploring other avenues, and I think they just lost their momentum. And then there was the long hiatus after that.

Greg: And I know we’re not talking about The New What Next, but I loved the direction they went in for that album. Goddamn, it was good. But I saw them play twice on the Caution tour and they were great. And even the live shows around then, it was sort of like the album; it was no longer a bunch of people screaming. It was out of the basement show and into the bigger venues, but still totally kick ass. And they’ve always been a great live band, but seeing them around this time was pretty special.

Jason: It’s interesting how we come across some of our favourite bands. I knew Hot Water Music from all of their other albums, but I never really owned one of them or spent too much time with them, and then one day you hand me this dubbed tape copy of Caution, which, I should state again, was not sequenced in the correct song order [laughs], and it just went from there for me. This album became such a huge part of my life, and I look back on it and think that if you’d never given me that tape, what would have happened? Would I have always just thought, “Oh yeah, Hot Water Music… those guys.” It seems like them and Get Up Kids were the two bands that I’d always talk about, but never actually sit down and listen to them. But now this band is such a huge, huge part of my life. It’s super weird.

Greg: Yeah, anything can happen. And some bands you click with and some bands you don’t. I think Hot Water Music is different though. I’m not sure if you know of any people who don’t like Hot Water Music once they’ve heard them? It seems like everyone likes them. They’re just so likeable.

Jason: Yeah, they are. It has come up at The Fest before. They headlined Fest 13 because it was their 20th anniversary, and some people were saying, “They’re not really my thing,” or whatever, and I’m thinking, “What?! How could you not love this band?” My fiancee loves this band. My fiancee’s dad loves this band! Everybody loves this band. And you and I have friends who say this is their favourite band.

Greg: It’s because they’re so genuine.

Jason: And I think this album is their most genuine. Everything is just so on point, and there wasn’t this naive-punks-in-the-basement feel, but it also wasn’t like they were these seasoned veterans that were complacent either, and I don’t think they’ll ever be like that, but this was the album where they really hit a high point. And luckily they’ve just gotten better since then.

Greg: I’m glad you mentioned that “How was your weekend?” line earlier. I always loved that moment on the album.

Jason: They have a lot of interesting lyrics like that. I mean, what is the song “Trusty Chords” about? Obviously, it’s about loving music and celebrating it with your friends, but there’s a dark twist to it as well, and a lot of their stuff is like that, and it’s what keeps it interesting. It’s not goofy posi-punk; it’s got a real-life edge to it.

Greg: I also can’t stress how many times I’ve put on Hot Water Music over the years when I need a boost. When I’m at work and it’s super crazy and I just need some music to keep me going, it’s, seriously, nine time out of 10, going to be Hot Water Music, and probably this album.

Jason: It’s fist-in-the-air, feel-good music. I’ve interviewed these guys a few times, and I’ve always joked with them that every single song is about moving forward and chugging along that track; there’s these repeated metaphors, and even the music has that gallop-y feel to it. They’re definitely one of the most motivating, inspirational bands that I’ve ever heard. And this album is the go-to.

Greg: Is there anything you don’t like about the album?

Jason: No. No, there isn’t. I can’t think of one thing I don’t like about this album.

Greg: I think there’s one song near the end of the album that I only… kind of… love. [Laughs] But I don’t know. The length is 36:22 and that is pretty much the perfect album length. Even the cover art, I love. I like the whiteness of it and it’s different and cool. Could an album be any more perfect? I don’t know.

Jason: And the best thing about Hot Water Music is you know they’ll keep putting out great albums, and even their earlier stuff is great. I could listen to all of their albums and say, “This is amazing,” but I think Caution is the one that if I had to give someone just one Hot Water Music album, it would be this one. I also really, really love their latest album, 2012’s Exister, but I think if I had to choose it would be this one. It’s the best album by one of the best bands of all-time, so it’s right up there in the Classic Platters with Slayer’s Reign in Blood, and all the other ones we’ve talked about.

Greg: We talked about Propagandhi’s Less Talk More Rock, and I could’t say if this album is better or worse, because it’s totally different, and you listen to them for totally different moods and reasons. But as far as punk rock albums go, Caution is pretty untouchable. Oh, and my apologies for the mixup on the dubbed tape copy all of those years ago [laughs]; I really don’t know what that was all about.

Jason: Apology accepted.

Hot Water Music‘s Caution was released on Epitaph Records in 2002.