Very obviously one of the most greatly anticipated albums of 2012, Hot Chipare back with their fifth studio album, 'In Our Heads'. After finishing off their three album deal with EMI, the band have swapped labels to Domino which is made up of friends and supporters.
Those classic overtones of happiness that ring true in Hot Chips previous material are still apparent on their new album – but they have embodied a more expansive sound. Various members of Hot Chip have been involved in a range of side projects over the past few years with Two Bears and Joe Goddard coming into his own recently with his solo material, receiving the band further notoriety and recognition.
Opener ‘Motion Sickness’ is happy and bouncy. Alexis Taylors illustrious vocal style provides that instantly recognisable Hot Chip sound, and the track sours into electro splendour with a simple four bar loop.
According to Joe Goddard, “We’ve tried to make something joyful and alive.” They’ve cracked it. ‘How Do You Do’s’ layered vocals are uplifting and catchy and ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’ highlights some wonderful falsetto vocals, continuing to keep the record on track for an enriching journey.
Touches of RnB trickle through ‘Look at Where You Are’, there is a rather comical part of the song with a collection of O’ing but it is undoubtedly very catchy. ‘These Chains’ is an absolute highlight, and needs no more explanation than twinkling electronic brilliance.
They have reached that comfortable stage in their careers where gimmicks and trends don’t even come into question; luckily what they create naturally is still incredibly relevant and sounds exceptionally good.
The immense thing about Hot Chip is that they produce music that is emotive. So often dance as a genre takes us to a catchy domain - but it lacks meaning and sometimes emotion. Loop patterns and bass line hooks are albeit catchy, but Hot Chip manage to bring the whole shebang to everything they do - funk, emotion and bass. This for me, is enough to keep this album spinning on repeat for the foreseeable future.
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