Hot Cha Cha returning to town as sound evolves

By John Benson

Having already rocked Youngstown once this year with its indie Sonic Youth-meets-Sleater-Kinney-inspired sound, Cleveland act Hot Cha Cha — Mandy Aramouni (guitar), Jovana Batkovic (vocals), Lisa Paulovcin (drums) and Heather Gmucs (bass) — is looking forward to another date Saturday at Cedars Lounge.

“Our show in Youngstown was really a lot of fun because I think people were just interested,” Batkovic said. “I think a lot of people came out and were intrigued to see a girl band. We were just so well-received. It was awesome. And we never think about playing the surrounding cities here. We’re always thinking we have to go to New York or Washington, D.C.

“Now I’m like, we need to focus more on Youngstown, places like that that have awesome people and venues. That’s why we’re going back there. We just had a blast.”

Batkovic and company are hoping the party continues with its upcoming full-length debut, “The World’s Hardest Working Telescope and The Violent Burst of Stars.” The long-awaited effort, which acts as a follow-up to the act’s debut EP, “Rifle, I Knew You When You Were Just A Pistol,” finds the girls expanding their sound into new territories.

“We have added a keyboard, and the album is just a little more upbeat,” Batkovic said. “And with the singing, I feel like I’ve definitely grown and figured out new ways of doing things. I think it’s just going to be more poppy, but I wouldn’t say happy, per se. I felt like as we were writing these songs this was going to be a really dark record. But not really.”

She quickly added, “I think it still has that [indie rock vibe]. That’s the guitar sound Mandy plays that will always be reminiscent of that style, which is also on the EP. Some songs are kind of almost like something that could fit with the EP, but I think there’s something different from the EP from the sense that when we play the old songs with the new ones at shows, you definitely can tell the difference. It slows things down a little bit, I feel.”

Among the new tracks the band is excited about are the dance-beat driven “A Ticket Away from Prague” and the epic, U2-esque “1,000 Pillows Soft.” With plenty of audiences satisfied in their past, not to mention a good amount of positive press, Hot Cha Cha appears to be destined for bigger things outside of Northeast Ohio.

“I’m trying to do this for real,” Batkovic said. “I’m getting kind of old and bored with lingering in this city. I think we’re trying to get out there and trying to play. We’ve only had one tour so far and one EP out. So I think with this album coming out and a tour in the summer, and we’re going to have one in the fall, I have a feeling this is a really good time for us.

“I think summer next year we’ll be seriously touring. This is just the feeling that I have. But I have a really good feeling with this.”