HOT CHIP
One Life Stand

[Astralwerks]

Hot Chip’s warm and fuzzy fourth album is not without its bangers, but even when this London electro-pop quartet is gunning for the clubs, it’s thinking about what’s waiting at home. Almost too sweet for their beats, the thumping, bumping likes of “I Feel Better” and “We Have Love” are about finding comfort in the arms of another. The album’s 10 tracks rank among the mellowest and most melodic Hot Chip has recorded. In fact, often the use of synthesizers feels incidental: The subtle electronic touches on “Slush” and “Hand Me Down Your Love” add little more than color. On the tone-setting opener, “Thieves in the Night,” the group rides a bubbly Erasure groove back to 1986. Proving suave and sincere need not be mutually exclusive, singer Alexis Taylor floats his falsetto high above the sparkle, delivering the disc’s hopeful thesis: “Happiness is what we all want.” –Kenneth Partridge