Hot Chip Issue #35

Made In the Dark (DFA/Astralwerks)

By Amber Drea
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 2:52pm

If you thought Hot Chip’s second full-length album, The Warning, was near perfect, their follow-up doesn’t disappoint. Having mastered the mechanics of electronic music, the British quintet draws from a deeper arsenal of keyboard sounds, sequencing techniques, and analog instrumentation for Made In the Dark. Aside from the four ballads, each song is busting at the seams with layers of contrasting textures, rhythms, and harmonies without jumbling into a muddy mess.

. Though none of the tracks can quite match the dancefloor domination of The Warning’s “Over and Over,” Made In the Dark opener “Out Of the Picture” sure comes close, building up slowly, then turning into a foot-stomping booty-shaker with aggressive riffs, boisterous horns, and clanging percussion. In a similarly schizophrenic fashion, “Shake a Fist” starts as a nod to nü-rave with its Klaxons-ish groove and soulful vocals, then halts halfway through with a sample of Todd Rundgren explaining the “sounds of the studio,” followed by a crazy techno breakdown that is the auditory equivalent of strobe lights and shooting lasers. “Bendable Poseable” melds dancehall reggae, heavy-metal guitars, and modulating synth progressions reminiscent of Middle of Nowhere–era Orbital, while “Hold On” is a bongo-laden psychedelic disco-funk freak-out, and “One Pure Thought” is a soaring anthem fusing classic rocknroll with cascading organs and an infectious beat.

Lyrically, Hot Chip is as playful as ever, covering everything from fall-down-drunkenness to drug-induced trips and comparing lovers’ spats to wrestling or heaven to hell. The quiet songs may lack the harmonic complexity and emotional quality that the band previously exhibited, but the rest of the record more than makes up for it.