THE BEAST

HOOCH Unleash a Gasoline-Soaked Garage Rock Sucker Punch with Debut Album FREELOADER

Born in the back of a Chevy Blazer and baptized in chaos, Halifax’s HOOCH don’t just play music — they detonate it. With the release of their full-length debut FREELOADER on Indica Records, the five-piece have delivered a Molotov cocktail of blown-out garage rock, punk ferocity, and raw confessions that hit like a hangover after a three-day bender.

This isn’t your average rock album — FREELOADER is a full-throttle scream into the void, a sonic bar fight that leaves blood on the floor and truth on the mic. Frontman Gabriel Bower pulls no punches, channeling the wreckage of addiction, debt, and self-destruction into a record that’s as cathartic as it is combustible.

“I used to be a bit of a maniac,” says Bower. “The lyrics in Crash My Car, Take It to the Limit, and Noose come from a time when I ran away from music, thinking it would never be real for me. This album is everything that built up while I was out running.”

And it shows. Lead single Crash My Car is a brash, brazen anthem of self-sabotage. “I’m gonna crash my car / Just like the movie stars / Snort cocaine off my Balenciaga,” Bower snarls, spitting out each line like a dare, backed by a riot of guitars and barely-contained chaos. It’s fantasy, confession, and pure fire all at once.

Then there’s Tekillya — a minute-long blitz of punk fury and surf-rock riffs that comes out swinging and doesn’t let up. “Hey little rabbit / You better stay out of my garden,” the band warns, making it clear: blink, and you’ll miss it.

HOOCH is Bower on vocals and guitar, Neil LeMoine on bass and vocals, Andrew Matthews pounding the drums, Morgan Zwicker slashing on guitar, and Kathryn McCaughey bringing keys and backing vocals to the fray. It’s a volatile mix of talent and tenacity, sharpened by Peter Edwards’ mixing and Ryan Morey’s mastering, giving FREELOADER a massive, unfiltered sound.

But behind the beer-soaked bravado is something deeper. Tracks like Noose and When the Day Comes pull back the curtain to reveal the demons beneath the surface. “Sometimes it makes you wanna die / Just tryin’ to get it right sometimes,” Bower laments on Noose, while When the Day Comes delivers a gut punch with the line, “Hey buddy, you ain't gonna make it now.” This is punk poetry stripped of all pretense — brutal, honest, and human.

Live, HOOCH is a band on the run — quite literally. Their tour schedule reads like a getaway plan:

May 22 – Haven Music Hall, Saint John, NB

May 23 – Xeroz Arcade, Moncton, NB

May 24 – The Tower, Kentville, NS

May 31 – Fairview Legion, Halifax, NS

July 11 – Gus’ Pub, Halifax, NS

Whether it’s the thunderous W.A.C.T.F, the dark comedy of NIMPH, or the raw nerve endings of Noose, FREELOADER is garage rock for the reckless, the ragged, and the real. There’s no polish, no filter — just sweat, distortion, and gasoline.

This is HOOCH: loud, loose, and completely unhinged. And they’ve never sounded more alive.