Weeey, first review of February! Now then; Hot Chip. I saw them in V2008, and they were pretty good. Unfortunately I had to leave the tent since I....uh....got a bit sick due to the over-consumption of alcohol, and with virtually no food in my belly, not a good result! Anyway, in those short minutes I spent in that tent, they played 'Over and Over', which is one of my favourite dance tracks of the 00's. So, I was pretty excited to hear Hot Chip's latest offering...
OLS starts with a gleaming bang; 'Thieves in the Night' has an infectious melody to keep you going through it's 6 minute length, and the album just keeps getting better with the run of 'Hand Me Down Your Love', 'Feel Better', and the title track. These first four tracks are the real standouts. 'Hand Me...' infuses strings and piano onto a stingy rhythm, before 'Feel Better' goes one step further and includes steel drums on the chorus to great effect.
The real highlight for me comes in the title track; it's the lazy bass that does it for me. When I played it in ICT to my two friends, they went "WTF is this!?" Their little brains aren't used to this crazy beat ;) It's so bloody addictive in a strange way - and "lazy" (but in a good way) - but it's up there with 'Over and Over' for me, personally.
Anyway, after those four tracks, the album goes downhill sharpish. 'Slush' absolutely kills it for me, it's the irritating song of the bunch. It's different from what they've been doing (it has a bit more swing to it) but I don't like it, bluntly put. It doesn't help that the singer is a bit out of tune! 'Brothers' is ok, it's just a bit dull, and 'Alley Cats' steps up a tiny bit, but it again, it's not fun.
By now, you realise that this as an album is a lot more mellow and mature than their previous efforts. While I don't mind change (in fact, I welcome it) I think they did it perfectly in their first four tracks, because the album loses a lot of momentum by 'Brothers', and 'Slush' just kills it. It does get revived by 'We Have Love', so at least it's a return to form. 'Keep Quiet' reminds me of 'Atmosphere' by Joy Division, but obviously in a more synth-like way. 'Take It In' closes the album off with a psycho melody, but all-in-all it's a bit of a roller-coaster. You go from one extreme to another quality-wise.
It's all very well and good, but it's not that Hot Chip masterpiece fans have been craving for. They're one step closer to releasing it though. Just cut the crap!
Rating: 4/5
Released February 8th
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