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Hot Chip - One Life Stand (CD)

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Product info

Categories: Dance

Artists

Hot Chip

Barcode

5099960750020

Category

Performer
Rock & Pop
Alternative

Copy Control

Country

South Africa

Country of Origin

USA

Distributor

EMD

Duration

49m 37s

Engineer

Tim Hopkins; Hot Chip

Format

Audio CD

Label

Astralwerks

Notes

Audio Mixer: Dan Carey.
When thinking of Hot Chip, wonky dance floor movers like "Over and Over" and "Ready for the Floor" are what spring to mind first. However, they've always balanced those songs with vulnerable moments, and their sensitive side dominates One Life Stand -- they don't sound ready for the floor, they sound ready to settle down. Even the most energetic songs feel tempered compared to the neon energy of Made in the Dark and The Warning's hits, and the album's more serious feel is immediately apparent on "Thieves in the Night." Despite its four-on-the-floor pulse and careening synths, Alexis Taylor's yearning is palpable when he sings "happiness is what we all want." That sense of urgency drives most of these meditations on deep and lasting love, monogamy and family, but it's not the life-or-death variety; it's more mature than that, accepting that you only have one life to live, so you should find someone you love and live it with them. At its best, One Life Stand is remarkably clear-eyed about that ideal: The title track's dance between minor and major keys, between doubt and joy, is a brilliant expression just how complicated happily-ever-after can be. Later in the album, though, the band makes domesticity sound blissful with "Alley Cats"' rippling guitars, while "We Have Love"'s undeniable groove and "Take It In"'s soft rock-meets-synth pop leanings show that Hot Chip can keep their clever sonics and bare their souls. Though this emotional nakedness is an unusual move after Made in the Dark pushed Hot Chip to a new level of attention and acclaim, it also shows they're in it for the long haul. ~ Heather Phares

Number of Discs

Performer

Hot Chip

Previews

Rolling Stone (p.60) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey're old-school suckers for love, and they always give their heart-hopeful anthems just the right undercurrent of ache."
Spin (p.88) - "Dance-floor fare like 'I Feel Better' and 'Take It In' still flash classic acid-house chops..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.106) - "[W]hen Hot Chip fuse gospel, funk, and R&B with catchy electro, their music feels as warm and expressive as any Stax classic."
Alternative Press (p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "ONE LIFE STAND grounds the quirks of frontman Alexis Taylor & Co. in melodies and sentiments....It's a good marriage, especially on 'Slush,' which has a timeless, hymn-like quality..."
CMJ - "ONE LIFE STAND marks the next step in Hot Chip's development....The ballad 'Slush,' for instance, exemplifies Hot Chip's diminished dependence on electronics."
Billboard (p.32) - "[A] warm album....[With] richly uplifting arrangements, dynamic percussion and an attention to vocals (some shared) that's intimately communal..."
Paste (magazine) (p.62) - "ONE LIFE STAND's best songs attain the elusive simpatico between catchy hooks and disarmingly earnest lyricism that makes Hot Chip the thinking-man's dance band."
Clash (magazine) - "'Thieves In The Night' opens the album in a slow burning fashion but builds to a suitably frenetic, euphoric climax."
Uncut (magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It isn't a coincidence that this, Hot Chip's most focused album, is also their finest....It's intriguing, beguiling...never, ever boring."
Uncut (magazine) (p.34) - Ranked #44 in Uncut's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2010" -- "[T]he brilliant sound design and techno imperatives were stronger than ever..."

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