Hot Chip – One Life Stand Review

Hot Chip – ’One Life Stand’ review
By Ryan Cook

I’ve been a fan of ‘The Chip’ since first seeing them do an acoustic and; ‘anything else that comes to hand’ show at the Homefires festival many moons ago and everything that they have released since then has had me dancing round my bedroom before many a night out. So naturally when I saw that this album was soon to be released I got a slight tweak in both nipples.

On first listen, this album falls a little flat. There’s no stand out anthems as on previous releases, this LP contains a lot more atmospheric dance/pop, both sunny Take it in and a little duskier Take it in.

There’s all the usual suspects in here, and I don’t mean backing vocals by Spacey and Baldwin et al (as cool as that would be!). I mean musically, with hints of Air, lashings of the 80’s and a good dollop of disco and early house music. Naturally it is of course filled with Alexis Taylors’ ‘I’ve just lost my lover in Tesco Metro’ romantically aching vocals and is unmistakably a Hot Chip record, just a little more down tempo. Here are a few examples of my highlights for your eyes and minds to mull over.

Slush sounds like Anthony & the Johnsons on a comedown after a night on the disco biscuits at some illegal rave, at an after party with some steel drums in tow. Hummuna hummuna!!

We Have Love and Take it in will surely have all of you thrash heads and 90’s throwbacks out there making Big Fish, Little Fish, Cardboard Box in any respectable dance establishment this side of the ‘Naughties’.

Keep Quiet is a reverberating soundscape of a song that I’m sure would sit happily on any James Cameron soundtrack circa Titanic.

Thieves in the night sounds like a remixed outtake of any number of songs on the Clockwork Orange soundtrack

I Feel Better has a slight Do You Believe in Life After Love era Cher (worst song ever! Fact), but thankfully not much of one. It’s also quite an R&B influenced salvo and is a nice little direction change that shows just how chameleonic (is that a word?) they are. Let’s hope that on the next release they tackle the genre of psychedelic acid afro country jazz, now that would be a winner!

So there you have my little bite sized, half arsed some song review, and in conclusion class, this album is definitely a grower, the more listens the more you discover and the better it gets.

And remember my children, kids need hugs, not drugs!!

6.8