Daniel Romano's Outfit - Too Hot to Sleep
You’ve Changed Records
Released March 1st, 2024
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Daniel Romano’s Outfit is the tightest band in Canada right now. Seeing them live is like a blazing sprint of country rock twang without a single breath in between tracks – it is a sight to behold. Daniel Romano understands the strength of The Outfit is in its live energy, and to that end, he faithfully replicates that energy in every recording. Production on his records is always sparse, but it’s for the best, any frills would surely suck their energy dry. Some members of the Outfit have changed on this record, and so too has their sound, but the duo of Daniel and Ian Romano remain at the helm of Too Hot to Sleep.
Romano has a penchant for flirting with other genres, but country and blues have always had their place in his records. With THTS, The Outfit threw country out the window and let their punk instincts take over. Those familiar with Romano’s work will know his punk project Ancient Shapes, but THTS is the first time the sound of Ancient Shapes has fully spilled over into The Outfit’s sound.
This record feels, at its core, like a D.C punk record with Daniel Romano DNA. The Outfit speeds furiously onward with hardly a left turn, moving so quickly that you’re left wondering how the wheels don’t fly off. Ian Romano is absolutely brilliant on the drums, as always, but it’s especially fun to hear him in this new context. The band spends hardly any time building tension, instead, it’s a high-octane cathartic release from front to back. The few moments that The Outfit does slow things down is where THTS suffers most, the magic is in its white-knuckle pace.
Loyal Romano fans might find themselves caught off-guard when they first spin this record, as I was. The bridge between Ancient Shapes and The Outfit has always been there, but they’ve never really crossed it. Unfortunately, the roar of the punk engine drowns out a lot of the texture out of The Outfit’s sound. Their previous records have been energetic, to be sure, but also dynamic and varied. THTS feels a little bit one-note, but where it lacks nuance, it makes up for it with pure energy. Not only is it an exciting new sound for The Outfit, but I think they’ve earned our trust to explore new shores. THTS proves they can pull it off.
The resulting album is a collection of ferocious, driving tunes that are guaranteed to increase your average speed by at least 10km/h. I took this one for a drive on a few occasions and my foot felt way heavier than normal. Too Hot to Sleep shirks The Outfit’s country roots in favour of blazing fast punk to great effect. Daniel Romano’s Outfit has always been as nimble as they are tight, and this is no exception – who knows where they’ll go next.
- Clay Geddert