Album Review: Hot Chip – ‘Made in the Dark’

By Jeff Swindoll Feb 13, 2008, 17:43 GMT

Hot Chip have always been the sort of band happy to flaunt their intelligence, but the smartest trick they pull on Made in the Dark is to show a little wisdom, too. 2006’s The Warning was a fine record, albeit one sometimes difficult to take seriously thanks to its taste for pop pastiche--here’s the Prince track, there’s a 2-step garage track--or the occasional ironic wisecrack. On their third album, though, ...more

‘Made in the Dark’ is the third album from British outfit Hot Chip. The group consists of Alexis Taylor (vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, and piano), Joe Goddard (vocals, synthesizer, and percussion), Owen Clarke (guitar), Felix Martin (drums), and Al Doyle (guitar, synthesizer, percussion). 

The band has a club feel and also does remixes, but their tunes still feel likes songs not just something to get you on the dance floor (as some of the other similar bands that sounded similar do). 

My favorite being “Hold On” which contains the missive “I’m only going to heave if it feels like hell; I’m only going to heaven if it tastes like caramel.”  It amused me. 

Speaking of amusing, they even have a song that pays tribute to watching professional wrestling (called ‘Wrestling,’ you were expecting something else?) going from half-nelson to Willie Nelson. 

Not all is amusement though as “In the Privacy of our Love” is a bluesy love song.  I didn’t know what to think at first, but when I began to listen to the lyrics (at first I thought it was all going to be instrumentals since there’s a long instrumental lead in on the first song) I began to pick up some interesting thoughts. 

“Hold On” provided some amusement as well as a good beat; I’d recommend giving them a spin.