Hot Chip - Made in the Dark

Genre indie-rock Publisher Astralwerks External Links Official Hot Chip Website

The basic idea you'll get after listening to Made in the Dark, by London's own Hot Chip is that they are likely to poke fun at just about any genre of music for the same laugh. However, after concoctions like "Boy from School" and "Over and Over" and the remixes of the aforementioned songs helped jack up their festival attendance, it was a good indication that whatever might come from their next record, it was sure to be more refined than their comical attempts at pop. For example, they could have dug into the groove of the R&B that influences a small portion of their music. They could have smoothed the creases in their crackly pop sound with a small amount of help from some techno. They could have perhaps even brought the house down around all of their previous output with something a little more colorful and tasty.

Any of these paths would have worked. Unfortunately, Hot Chip's strong point is not focus, and so like the child in the candy store, they decided to take everything. Through over-the-top sonics, picture perfect pop, and noticeable dredge, Made in the Dark is an album that is likeable but flawed. While it has its moment, it almost comes across as greedy, and that's even giving the band a little room to maneuver. The majority of the songs on this album are doable, in a sense, but there exist some serious let-downs as well. "Bendable Poseable," the devilish "Don't Dance," and even the highly overrated "Shake A Fist" come off as too much at times. This "winner take all" formula is just not the long-term success plan the band needs. It will not work forever, and hopefully Hot Chip will realize that before they get in over their heads. It is not to say the band doesn't have a good album in them. They do. For better or for worse, this is just not that album.

Get rid of the smack, though, and you've got some things that can still be enjoyed. Sure, there isn't anything ground-breaking here, but once you are zoned in to Made in the Dark's electro-pop goodness, you can begin to appreciate some of the finer moment on the album. "Ready for the Floor," comes to mind here, in which the band finds some good middle ground between the vocals and a vivid, electric sound. "One Pure Thought" fires you up with gritty guitar chords and edgy synth, and "Touch Too Much" gets in with a range of percussiveness.

However, the ballads do better service to the song-writing skills of the band. The album focal point for this listener is "We're Looking for a Lot of Love," with its steady backbeat, a snaking vocal line, and easy use of reverb. Analog takes the stage on the short but sweet "Whistle for Will," and "In Privacy of Our Love," takes a poke at some Southern Gospel. Even the title track has an easy-like-Sunday morning feel.

Don't be too caught up in the way these things read from one reviewer's pen. Sure the album is turbulent, but that's the way Hot Chip likes it. Overall, a decent recording from a band that just has some sorting out to do.