Hot Chip - The Warning

In these post-everything, ProTools-enabled times, pastiche seems to be the order of the day. There aren't many bands out there, though, that can pull off the everything-at-once approach as beautifully, or as effortlessly, as Hot Chip do on their new LP, 'The Warning'. The band blends techno beatmaking, IDM squiggles, funk baselines, vocoders, handclaps and good old indie pop into a single seamless sound, carving out a musical space where Big Beat party-starters can play off clever, navel-gazing lyricism and nerdy IDM explorations can grow sleepy, off-kilter melodies and radio-friendly song structures. Not everything works, of course; Hot Chip should probably leave hip-hop rhymeslinging to actual rappers. Still, the band displays remarkable poise – and their obvious enthusiasm for creating catchy, beautiful, noise shines through on every track. Sonic experimentation has seldom sounded like such a breezy good time. [Andrew Monroe]