Pop Genius Alert!
In this digital age of music, I don’t get around to listening to new things as quickly as I used to. Fileshares from friends, the immediacy of iTunes and the presence of probably over 5000 songs in my iPod that I am not completely familiar with, leads to an inevitable backlog and Hot Chip’s new (and highly satisfying) disc One Life Stand fell victim to the “pile.” But a recent road trip gave me the perfect excuse to listen to their new disc in its entirety, from start to finish and without interruption (okay, maybe just a highway pee break). Hot Chip are one of those bands that just get better and better. Whereas their previous disc Made In The Dark was fun and flirted with a range of musical styles (at times, verging on frenetic), One Life Stand is fun, albeit in a more subdued way and, as a whole, far more cohesive than past efforts. Single “Hand Me Down Your Love” is classic Hot Chip, but not representative of the album. That honour falls to new single “I Feel Better,” a sublime collision of beats, strings, percussion and angelic vocals that soar. “Thieves In The Night,” the first track grabs and doesn’t let go. It could be placed in a similar category as Owl City‘s “Fireflies” but Hot Chip just do this sort of thing better; the quality of songs on One Life Stand is, I would venture, superior to a lot of what’s out there right now and doesn’t disappoint. “Take It In,” the closing track, grooves so beautifully you don’t want it to end, while at the same time, features sunny harmonies so slick that it would make [Beach Boy] Brian Wilson smile.It’s an album that makes you wonder why some bands even bother – Hot Chip are, hands down, one of the best bands of the last decade and One Life Stand is the sonic proof. Great songs, thick beats and rousing strings.. What more can you ask for?
