They're strictly Canadian and they're strictly for fun, in a serious way of course. In 2003 they gave us the catchy and fidgety "Bandages" and the parent-album "Make Up The Breakdown", in 2005 "Goodnight Goodnight" and the slightly less-successful album "Elevator", before "Happiness Ltd" kind-of sunk without a trace a couple of years later.

2010 looks like a reversal of fortunes to me, since new album "Future Breeds" is rather good (you can hear some of it on their My Space page) and a melodic little bundle of noise in the form of single "Goddess On The Prairie" has pricked up the ears of 6 Music recently. A glorious melange of jangly guitars and quirky rhythms is always a winner in my book.

It's been a while since Hot Hot Heat entertained us - so why not let them in the autumn, as part of their global-tour (well, the US, Canada, UK and, um, Germany). They will play five gigs over here in October, including Glasgow (20th), Manchester (21st), Birmingham (22nd), Brighton (24th) and London's Garage (25th). Even better is the price - £10 plus fees for the regional dates, £12.50 for London. Expect the date in the capital to sell out quick.