Like the Black Keys if they weren’t basically a pop band, or John Spencer Blues Explosion without the retro obsessions, Hot Snakes were what rock and roll sounds like stripped down to its bubbling primal ooze.

They were the third band from Rick Froberg and John Reis (after Drive Like Jehu and Pitchfork), and back in the early 2000s gave Reis a place to unleash his real rock demons while he soldiered on with the slicker, punker and more successful Rocket from the Crypt.

Unfortunately, Hot Snakes and Rocket from the Crypt both broke up around the same time, though Reis has continued to be a fixture of the San Diego rock scene in various projects.

It looks like Rocket will never reunite, but last year Hot Snakes did. As these things go, the band is now more popular than it ever was when it was first around, and ironically are being hailed as a sort of “next big thing.” They’re playing all their garagey, post-hardcore fan favorites, like the driving “Braintrust,” “Hi-Lites” and pretty much anything from their best (and last) album, Audit in Progress (although Suicide Invoice is good, too).

Hot Snakes play the Blank Club on Wednesday, April 4, at 9pm; $18.

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