It’s February and people are finding love, spreading love, redefining love and even proclaiming “down with love.” I recently found love stashed in Hot Chip’s freshly released fourth album, One Life Stand. Not only is the pun in the title intended, but the two founding boys of the British band, Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, are eagerly spreading their adorations with copious electro-pop synths and rhythms. This new musical endeavor shows a softer and more romantic side than their previous three albums, Made in the Dark, The Warning and Coming on Strong. Both Made in the Dark and The Warning touted a couple of energetic and attractive singles such as “Over and Over,” “Boy From School” and “Shake A Fist” while One Life Stand lacks a comparable collective pop experience. Don’t let this deficit cause you lovesickness though because while the record loses the familiar overpowering, aggressive, full dance floor effect, One Life Stand still remains an attractive package of songs.
The album begins with “Thieves In The Night,” a track consisting of pounding drums and force with a long progressing romp that deposits different instruments, drowning the listener in undulating audio waves. “Thieves In The Night,” “Hand Me Down Your Love,” and “I Feel Better” share a similar bouncy and “boingy” sound while “We Have Love” is slightly different with its tougher and rougher disco beat. These five tracks stick together in that they noticeably deviate from the cushier character of the record.
Just as Hot Chip’s previous two albums contained significant singles, One Life Stand possesses the same emphasis on producing that “one special single” which in this case is the title track, “One Life Stand.” It contains a pounding bass from the very beginning, a basic four-note synth, a ringing riff, grating vocals and the right balance of redundant sound embellishments and an alteration of brass instrumentation. Two tracks that deserve honorable mention are “Slush” and “Alley Cats,” popping ballads that perfectly illustrate the stripped-down, natural and fresh, springing and spirited music that manages to retain a glistening and ultramodern quality. “Alley Cats” is captivating with its drifting melody and lyrics that creep in and sucker punch your melodramatic heart with lines like, “Wear each other’s heads like hats/Speak in tongues like alley cats/Cradle them in both our laps/And we die alone.”
Just in time for the holiday of Hallmark cards and candy hearts, Hot Chip presents its listeners with a similar mix of both explosive affection and the accompanying sore punctures of reality woven in our moments of intimacy with that special someone.
Related posts:
- Hot Chip brings electronic flavor
- Who put a little love in your heart?: On the origins of the symbol of love
- Sometimes Love doesn’t happen
- Commercializing Love
- True Love Smells Like Teen Spirit
