Hot Chip: 'One Life Stand'

In regards to their latest release, Alexis Taylor stated that their intent was to create a “more mid-tempo and disco influenced” album than their previous offerings. The product appears to only half realised. Disco, it most certainly is, but mid-tempo it surely isn’t. What Hot Chip have created here is not only a set of classic upbeat dance-floor albums, but also their best album to date. In short this album is pure electronic pop perfection.

Since this London quintet formed in 2000, Hot Chip gained a reputation for witty lyrics and experimentation. Although this produced flashes of genius, they were always trying to do too much and resulted in fragmented albums. With their fourth release ‘One Life Stand’ they have concentrated upon polishing their sound and committed to creating straightforward (house induced) love songs. It’s ‘back to basics’.

It’s hard not to like this album as it contains everything required to make good electro-pop music; from fantastic melodies and smart arrangements, to memorable hooks and intelligent lyrics, all merged to create an infectious sound. It has an overall feel quite similar to that of Daft Punk’s classic album ‘Discovery’ in the sense that it produces amazingly catchy classic dance songs.

Underpinning these great songs is a shift in the lyrical content. By disregarding their witty lyrics and embracing a broader emotional range they have created classic dance love songs. They are far more open now in talking about love and relationships and do so without ever sounding sentimental. Add to that the amazing vocals of Taylor and the sublime harmonies contributed by Goddard and the result is one of heavenly bliss.

‘One Life Stand’ starts off upbeat in both mood and tempo and remains that way virtually all the way to the end. The opening three tracks; ‘Thieves in the Night’, ‘Hand me Down My Love’, and ‘I Feel Better’ are instant classics. The latter of which was apparently inspired by watching Susan Boyle sing! (Inspiration truly can come from the strangest of places). The majority of the songs start off relatively sparse but gradually build into catchy and euphoric choruses. There are some slower numbers here such as the brilliant ‘Brothers’, the bizarre ‘Slush’ (demonstrating they haven’t totally ditched their experimental edge) and ‘Keep Quiet’. However, it is the fast beat sounds, in particular the title track ‘One Life Stand’ and ‘Alley Cats’ which stand out and show the pure genius of this band.

Hot Chip have created an amazing album, and certainly the first great album of 2010 that I have heard so far. By focusing on what they do best, pure electro-pop and by not being afraid to tackle the theme of love they have hit jackpot.