The London bases electronic pop band Hot Chip has already earned the reputation of one of the creators of music that inevitably finds itself on dance floors and is at the same time interesting to listen from the point of view of the lyrics. Faultless arrangements based on the skillful use of synthesizers and contrasting voices of vocalists Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard have allowed Hot Chip occupy a special niche in the music world, the position being reinforced by the last album The Warning which was both intellectual and dance at the same time. Record DJ Kicks: Hot Chip, a collection of best songs remixed, released last year prevented the fans from getting bored expecting another masterpiece which indeed has not made it wait too long. New album Made In The Dark widens the borders of the pop music notion in many respects once again proving that Hot Chip is a unique collective ignoring whatever regulations. As before its music causes smiles of admiration with precise shots of melodies and texts, and the individual approach to tracks really deserves respect.
Definitely the main difference from the previous works is the significantly larger percentage of singing on Made In The Dark which cannot but please. The elements of improvisation within a song have become another new peculiarity, and of course the beats chosen are once again superb. One will hardly find any highlights or on the contrary fillers on the album for each single track deserves attention and has a lot of interesting nuances to discover. The opener Out At The Pictures begins with a long introduction featuring crazy guitars and impetuous drums, and synthetic Shake A Fist is refined with a marvelous robotic beat and funny screaming vocals. The bass line on Ready For The Floor wonderfully combines with the sweet vocal part, whereas one of the strangest songs Bendable Poseable is remarkable for a most sophisticated instrumental background you have ever heard. A beautiful catchy tune of Touch Too Much is interrupted by the unexplainable noise in the background. The most unexpected number has become the title track Made In The Dark which is a most real ballad of a broken heart theme. The most danceable and longest song Hold On is refined with great choir vocals and a shade of African rhythms, and the funniest composition on the record is positively Wrestlers. Track with the title Dont Dance is a big temptation to do the opposite due to the contagious beat, and the closer In The Privacy Of Our Love is another slow number refined with piano and hand claps which is a brilliant way to end the danceable album.
If before we considered Hot Chip through the comparisons with the other collectives who have reached the higher picks in the pop music industry today one can easily speak of the originality of the relatively young band. Hit Over And Over from the previous album has proved to be one of the most popular song during the last couple of years, and there is no doubt that the songs on Made In The Dark are about to be the same successful. Bold and at the same time thinking deeply Hot Chip never conceal that the electronic pop music for them implies a freedom much larger than one might think and this braveness certainly bears its fruit. Although the electronic part has become prevailing and more insistent the band still sticks to catchy pop melodies and stakes at singing which is more than obvious on Made In The Dark. If Hot Chip made a grand step forward with the release of The Warning the new record confirms its reputation of masters of a quality electronic music that offers more and more discoveries with each new listening.
One Life Stand
The Warning
Our Love To Admire 2007
New album of Interpol Our Love To Admire will surely attract fresh echelons of fans without loosing old ones. The band still sticks to their old stylistic but at the same time brings some new attractive novelty, which makes this album their best one
