Made In The Dark - Hot Chip

[Rocknroll]

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Reviewed by: WILL HERMES (Rollingstone), rate 4/5:

It's tough not to admire a band that can work an affection for Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, R. Kelly and WWF icon Jerry "the King" Lawler into a hot club track — let alone do it with couplets like "I've got a roll of coins/I'm aiming for your loins." The best dysfunctional-lovers jam since Joe Nichols' "Let's Get Drunk and Fight," "Wrestlers" epitomizes what makes this quintet the sharpest dance rockers this side of their pals LCD Soundsystem: catchy tunes, monster grooves, and lyrics resolving the heartfelt and the smartass. Words are irrelevant on "Shake a Fist," a dance-floor killer about fame (or maybe drugs) with a head-exploding synth breakdown. But just when you're ready to dismiss Hot Chip as impressively snarky club brats, they uncork a drop-dead ballad like thetitle track, all sublime classic-soul guitar licks and choirboy vocal harmonies. "Since I stole this song, we have made a new start," croons Alexis Taylor, unable to avoid cracking wise amid serious sentiments about the sex/love chasm. It's like a wink in an IM.

Amazon Editorial Review:

If Daft Punk and Flight of the Concords collaborated on the soundtrack to a fabulous movie about wrestling, such an effort might approach Hot Chip's sublime and goofy Made in the Dark. This British five-piece's third album is its most ridiculous and excessive; it's also their best thus far. Some really weird things go on here: nu-rave numbers segue into lovely ballads with the tempi of cough syrup, then into bizarre yet poppy feet-moving anthems. What if Ween were less lazy and less overtly heterosexual, or if the Beta Band fell in love with the dance floor and again made more music as good as their first EPs? Because of the alleged obnoxiousness of Hot Chip's audience, there are those who have a problem with this incredibly talented group. But if we only listened to music based on audiences, we'd probably never listen to Neil Young or Madonna, either, and what would life be like then? No fun, that's what it would be like. And Hot Chip is, quite simply, music for people who like fun. --Mike McGonigal

Track List:

* Out At The Pictures
* Shake A Fist
* Ready For The Floor
* Bendable Poseable
* We're Looking For A Lot Of Love
* Touch Too Much
* Made In The Dark
* One Pure Thought
* Hold On
* Wrestlers
* Don't Dance
* Whistle For Will
* In The Privacy Of Our Love