It took me a while to recognise Hot Chip‘s lead off single ‘Night and Day’ as it was blasting over the airwaves on Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 music show. At first I was sceptical at the direction that the band was heading, I didn’t think it sounded much like Hot Chip at all, never mind the delightful pop music that I’d come to expect from the band. It had me wondering as to whether this would be the album that sees Hot Chip shoot far below the high expectations that loyal fans have placed upon them.
I then got a hold of In Our Heads, and thankfully had my initial worries pushed aside. As soon as ‘Motion Sickness’, the first track on the new album kicks in you can tell that the record is going to be another great release. Each track is a wall of sound that hits you brilliantly and the experience that members have had in side projects since the last release shines through. They have developed as a band, and glued together all their different influences again creating their own undeniable style.
‘How Do You Do It’ is a brilliant track with bassy synths and awesome choruses that are somewhat reminiscent of the previous album. ‘Let Me Be Him’ clocks in at over 7 minutes but at no point does it get boring, delicately balanced with layer upon layer of sound carrying the entirety of the song. A personal favourite is ‘Don’t Deny Your Heart’ which contains heaps of 80’s influences and only goes to show what the band is capable of.
There are much more stripped down songs of slower pace, ‘Look At Where We Are’ and ‘Always Been Your Love’ are both brilliant songs and help focus on another side of the band. Alexis’s voice really shines through on these tracks and are much more delicate than anything else on the album, and the latter track is a lovely finale to what is a first class album.
Initially I was worried, I didn’t want to see Hot Chip ruin their brilliant track record of great album releases but luckily I was proved wrong and this may be the record that sees Hot Chip grow to be one of the greatest acts in the world. Already they are in the middle of a huge tour, and on the back of what will no doubt be some of their biggest performances to date (headlining Camp Bestival) will 2013 be the year that Hot Chip headline somewhere like the Other Stage at Glastonbury? Arguably smaller bands already have, and with In Our Heads in their arsenal I can’t see there being many people arguing.
Discover Hot Chip: Official // Last.fm // Facebook
By Daniel Clayton
Dance Yrself Clean
