London psychedelic punk trio Hot Face are today sharing news of their debut album, Automated Response, alongside its lead single ‘Pink Liquor’. Automated Response is set for release on 23rd Jan 2026 via Speedy Wunderground and was captured live in one take at Abbey Road Studios in front of an audience.
The story of Hot Face’s debut album takes them from recording in their bedrooms, to gracing one of the most hallowed studios in existence. It all begins after a chaotic midnight headline show at Left of The Dial in Rotterdam, when producer Dan Carey and the band renewed their vows (having previously linked up for former single ‘dura dura’) to record an album. The premise was simple – the album was to be captured over the course of one day in 3 takes straight to tape, with the last unfolding in front of a live audience. A short while later, after yet another show, on a cold London night, Hot Face received a call from Dan in the early hours of the morning. Cramming themselves into the green room toilet to escape the noise, the band were offered the chance to record the album at Abbey Road Studios, the very next week. While a daunting proposal, the band accepted and Hot Face entered Studio Three at Abbey Road Studios. The resulting 25 minutes is what happened that day. A raucous ode to live music, blemishes and all. Within these songs, Hot Face (with Dan Carey manipulating the band’s sonic mayhem live alongside them) bring their feverish live performance to you. Committed to tape and mixed by Dan Carey for your pleasure. Meeting their audience eye to eye, you can almost hear the sweat dripping off the walls.
In the world of Hot Face, the band deal as much in bold statements as they do keen insight. With ‘Pink Liquor’ they set a course for clarity via whirlwind garage-punk that connects the dots between excess and its consequences.
Guitarist and vocalist James Bates comments on the single: “‘Pink Liquor’ is an explosive and raw anti-ode to chaotic hedonism and the madness that follows. A rapid-fire slice of garage-punk that wastes no time. Lyrically, Pink Liquor is a dadaist-collection of vignettes that highlight the unhinged nature of addiction, its chaotic rush and ultimately, it’s consequences. The characters within the song are based upon people whose paths I’ve crossed along the way whose stories reflect those themes – Ugly Joe, for example, was a middle-aged alcoholic satirical cartoonist from the Czech Republic whom I befriended only to find 3 months later that they had died from an overdose. The track is neither a glorification nor a condemnation. It just is.”