Hot Mulligan set Rough Trade NYC ablaze for intimate album release show

Photos by Jaden Russell // Words by Amber Bintliff

Have you ever watched someone crowdsurf at a record store? Hot Mulligan celebrated the release of their fourth LP The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still with an electric performance and album signing in New York City on August 22nd.

The event took place at Rough Trade Below, a cozy underground performance and store area located in the city’s iconic Rockefeller Center. Despite the small space and original indication of a stripped-back acoustic set, Hot Mulligan came on stage as plugged in and ready to party as ever. As soon as they began with “Drink Milk and Run,” the crowd wasted no time opening up a mosh pit as big as humanly possible and crowdsurfing in the not-so-typical setting.

After finishing “Shhhh! Golf is On” and declaring the first two songs as a warm-up, the band assured fans it was time to hear some new tracks from The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still. They started with “Moving to Bed Bug Island” and continued through the album’s first five tracks in order, ending with “Bon Jonah.” Hot Mulligan’s charm is embedded into their live presence and hearing these new songs live for the first time further proved that The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still is their most authentic project yet.

The post-emo inventors drew their set to a close with two of their biggest hits from their 2020 album, you’ll be fine. The energy in the room for “*Equip Sunglasses*” and “BCKYRD” were unmatched, with every person in the audience screaming back each word at the band with all they had left. They left fans buzzing about the show as they waited in line to chat with the band and get their copies of the new record signed.

Hot Mulligan will played a sold-out show at The Roxy in West Hollywood, CA over the weekend, and they have one more sold-out in-store performance and signing at Permanent Records in Los Angeles, CA today, August 25th, before heading to the UK/EU to support Pierce The Veil next month. The no. 1 hot new band will then kick off The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still Tour in North America on November 1st at Buffalo RiverWorks in New York. Tickets and information for their upcoming live shows can be found here.

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