CD Review: Hot Chip

Mix of ballads and dance numbers is a recipe for success

Posted on Feb. 08, 2010, at 1:56 a.m.

As predicted, Hot Chip’s fourth label album “One Life Stand” is fun, danceable, quirky and beautiful. It retains their signature sound — synths everywhere, deep grooves and disco-y vocals — but there are enough surprises to keep fans on their toes.

The biggest curveball is the ballads. Overall, the album is a bit more downtempo than the previous “Made in the Dark,” but “Slush” and “Keep Quiet” are sure to catch listeners by surprise. They are slow and dreary, but oddly gorgeous.

It’s nothing completely new for the band, but they seem to have expanded their previous downtempo work. The ballads are rich and textured — “Slush” features a unique arpeggiated vocal line throughout.

This is not to say their upbeat material isn’t great, though. Opener “Thieves In The Night” is a pounding, “four-to-the-floor” dance epic for a full six minutes. “Hand Me Down Your Love” incorporates a great rock beat and piano line, a departure from the electro-based songs.

There is an ample amount of pop influence on this album, best displayed in “I Feel Better.” Dark string lines underscore massively Auto-Tuned vocals in this almost haunting piece.

Most of the album falls somewhere along a spectrum of upbeat dance tunes and slow ballads. “Alley Cats” is a laid back song, but once the grooves start you can’t help but move. The bass line is smooth and the guitar work subtle yet effective. “Brothers” sounds like it could have been on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ most recent album. Distorted synths brood as the track continually builds.

The title track, “One Life Stand,” makes use of some outlandish synths. There is one that sounds like steel drum, some distorted horns and ample amounts of laser sound effects.

The tracks seem to run together sometimes, a problem seen on “Made in the Dark” as well, but it’s still enjoyable listening. They create such an atmosphere, it’s hard not to get lost in the fathom of their highly-danceable tracks.

Hot Chip made a great album, and it will add nicely to their repertoire. They took a good number of risks, but still played it safe keeping their fun vibe. As far as electro / indie releases go, you can’t get much better. It’s not a game-changer, but it’s great material for a sweet dance party.

Grade: B

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010, 1:56 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.