The band's style makes use of electronic and traditional instruments and has variously been categorized as dance-punk, post-punk revival, and art-punk.

[citation needed] After five years of scant activity following the touring cycle of Future Breeds in 2011, on March 13, 2016, Hot Hot Heat announced new music with a limited edition 7" record, "Nature of Things" which was released for April 16, 2016, in participation with Record Store Day that year.

[4] However, the reunion would be extremely short-lived following an announcement by the group on January 26, 2024, stating all intentions to release new material and subsequent live performances were effectively cancelled.

The reasoning was further explained in part due to lead vocalist and primary songwriter Steve Bays no longer being able to commit to the group's plans.

[5] Dustin Hawthorne, a drugstore clerk, and Steve Bays, a personal assistant, had been in many different bands together since 1995 and met Paul Hawley in 1998.

The band soon changed direction to a more melodic, pop-influenced style, losing Marnik and adding guitarist Dante DeCaro.

Strongly influenced by the new wave sound of 1980s bands the Cure, XTC, the Clash, and Elvis Costello and the Attractions, the new lineup, with Steve on vocals, quickly released a series of 7" singles and toured extensively in Canada and the American Pacific Northwest, joining up with similarly styled indie rock bands such as Les Savy Fav, the French Kicks, Radio 4, Ima Robot, and Pretty Girls Make Graves, and opening for established Canadian rockers Sloan on a national tour.

That album quickly found critical acclaim, and its singles "Bandages" and "Talk to Me, Dance With Me" received regular airplay on MTV and radio, including influential Los Angeles, California station KROQ-FM, on whose charts both reached No. 1.

Experimenting with 5/4 disco grooves and electro loops, they went into the studio with producer/musician Ryan Dahle from Limblifter/Age of Electric awhile doing a brief Canadian tour opening for Bloc Party.

To build anticipation for the release the band performed residencies at two small clubs in the United States, Public Assembly in New York City, and Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles throughout May and June 2010 respectively.

After the band split, Bays reunited with former bassist, Bossley to form, electro pop project, Fur Trade.

On November 18, 2023, the band announced they had reunited via social media, with Bays, Hawley, DeCaro and Bossley consisting as the line-up.

[13] On January 26, 2024, however, the band announced via social media that their reunion had come to an abrupt end just before the new year due to Bays feeling "he could not participate.