Hot Chip - One Life Stand

"Now that we're older, there's more that we must do," sings Alexis Taylor on the appropriately titled Slush. Hot Chip have grown up, and it seems what they "must do" is tone down the craziness and get a little sentimental with it.

As a follow up to the playful mania of 2008's Made In The Dark, One Life Stand definitely has its comparable moments, though the London quintet's dalliances with Europop vocoders, trancey synths and steel drums steer cuts like I Feel Better dangerously close to mid-life crisis terrain. It's enjoyable listening in the main, just a little uninspiring at times.

The same eccentricities dog saccharine hymn Brothers; aiming for the melting beauty of Colours, it's a sub-par approximation. True salvation arrives in the form of the album's title track, We Have Love and Take It In - retaining Hot Chip's trademark juxtaposition of melodic darkness and lyrical sweetness. Sublime remixes to follow, surely?[Rosie Davies]