A very promising debut, but I would suggest a name change on the near horizon if world domination is to follow.

Hot Foxxy are a five-piece band heralding from Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. Let me first address the elephant in the room (or should that be fox?) – the band name. I did have a wry smile when this album was sent to me for review and I immediately also had the (admittedly incorrect) preconceived idea – one that I think many may have – that I was about to listen to a Sleaze/Glam Rock album similar to Poison ('Look What The Cat Dragged In' era), Tigertailz, etc. As they say, don't judge a book by its cover, as this is more akin to eighties bands like Shark Island, Dokken and Ratt. 'Burning Bridges' is only a short album, clocking in at just over thirty-eight minutes, and two of the ten songs are alternative versions.

The lead single 'Redhead Rocker' gets the album off to a beguiling start. Despite the title, this song wasn't written about my wife as I cannot imagine her in a short skirt and Motörhead t-shirt. Although lead singer Marco Lacerda has a small, detectable accent, his delivery is clear and ideally suited to this style of music. The production, for an independent release, is impressive with both the rhythm section of Daniel Schultz on the drums and Betão Sassarrão (aka "Boss") on bass, and lead guitars of Eder Erig and Humberto Sprenger being very pure.

The eighties Melodic Hard Rock style continues with 'Clear Moon', 'Burning Bridges' (reminiscent of Rough Cutt's 'Rip Your Heart Out') and the Dokken-esque 'Wrong Love'. Any eighties-influenced album is not complete without a ballad and that arrives by way of 'Getting Over You'; it's not the greatest you will hear this year, but it does feature an excellent guitar solo. Despite being a bit of a mouthful, 'I Don't Mind If It Won't Last Forever' has quite a catchy chorus, while 'Tattooed Girl In Black' is standard fare, however, the autobiographical 'Born To Be A Rockstar' shows the band have great potential.

The final two selections are re-worked versions of earlier tracks. Firstly, an acoustic version of 'Getting...', sung as a duet which works very well, and secondly, a simply stunning piano (instrumental) version of the opening number 'Redhead...' that's very classical in its composition.

'Burning Bridges' is a very promising debut, but I would suggest a name change on the near horizon if world domination is to follow.

Mark Donnelly