Hot Chip

‘Made In The Dark’

(EMI)

London’s premier purveyors of geek chic and quirky electro make a long-awaited return, and someone or something has messed them up right and royally. Gone is the infectious, telly-friendly jingle pop of past offerings to be replaced by a mixture of guitar-heavy tracks and stripped down ballads alongside disco numbers with a distinctly melancholy air. In fact, ‘Made In The Dark’ sounds like it was born from a totally different band when compared with ‘Coming On Strong’ and ‘The Warning’, as Hot Chip explore their sensitive souls and a delve deep into the dark side using scratchy riffs and pianos as well as their trademark clipped beats, squelchy synths and bizarre samples. This is a dazzling comeback release that simply couldn’t be bettered.

Camilla Pia