Product Description

'Made In The Dark' is the third studio album from acclaimedelectro-pop band Hot Chip. Expanding on the sounds and influences on 2006's 'The Warning', the band easily take electro, pop and rock in their stride and produce a remarkable and original record. Alex Taylor's intimate vocal harmonies combine with inventive and rhythmic beats to make each track intriguing and unique. Features the single 'Ready For the Floor'.

Track Listing

1. Out At The Pictures
2. Shake A Fist
3. Ready For The Floor
4. Bendable Poseable
5. We're Looking For A Lot Of Love
6. Touch Too Much
7. Made In The Dark
8. One Pure Thought
9. Hold On
10. Wrestlers
11. Don't Dance
12. Whistle For Will
13. In The Privacy Of Our Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Hot Chip have always been the sort of band happy to flaunt their intelligence, but the smartest trick they pull on Made in the Dark is to show a little wisdom, too. 2006's The Warning was a fine record, albeit one sometimes difficult to take seriously thanks to its taste for pop pastiche--here's the Prince track, there's a 2-step garage track--or the occasional ironic wisecrack. On their third album, though, it's satisfying to report Hot Chip sound like no one but themselves. That is, shuffling, synthesiser-smeared electro-pop with a gooey emotional core and, in the shape of Alexis Taylor, one of the greatest white-boy soul voices since that of his hero, Green Gartside of Scritti Politti. "Ready for the Floor" sounds halfway between Detroit techno and the soundtrack to a Nintendo RPG, Taylor's clear, honest vocal reaching out hopefully: "I'm hoping by chance/You might take this dance", while the album's title track is a slow piano ballad that finds him laid blue over the ruins of a love affair. There is mischief, too of course: take "Wrestlers", a dinky R&B track where the group show off their knowledge of wrestling slang. Even when they're ready to rumble, though, Hot Chip show off the sort of emotion and elation we've rarely seen since the glory days of New Order, and that's high praise indeed. --Louis Pattison

The Word magazine, January 2007
"...breaking new ground beyond already explored by Neil and Chris and Barney and Vince."

About the Artist
The music making partnership of Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Owen Clarke, Al Doyle and Felix Martin came into existence in gradual stages, and has culminated in their third album `Made In The Dark' the follow up to the gold selling, Mercury Music Prize nominated album `The Warning'.

The nuclei of the band is Taylor and Goddard, school friends who found common ground and began to make home recordings using an odd assortment of cheap synthesizers, guitars and percussion. Clarke, another school friend, joined the duo soon after, impressing them with his quick-witted playing and rather devious musical experiments. The end product of this era was the first full Hot Chip album 'Coming on Strong', released by Moshi Moshi Records. `The Warning' represented a great step forward in terms of songwriting and production, though the album was still recorded exclusively at home and without recourse to a professional studio (though they were grateful to DFA for the offer).

Al Doyle and Felix Martin, already members of the band as well at work on their own musical projects, now joined the band full time as Hot Chip took off as a live entity, performing in the United States, the UK and Europe. The sound of the band evolved towards wilder, heavier electronics, though still coupled with a signature pop aesthetic.

`The Warning' stood out a mile when it was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. It's combination of forward thinking pop production, love of 2 step garage and sheer eclecticism captured the essence of rave without, at times, sounding anything like it. From the delicate wistfulness of `Colours', and the dizzying, almost nonchalant melodies of `Boy From School' to the exquisite heartbreak of the `Look After Me' Hot Chip showed they were equally at home creating songs of intimacy and melancholy as they were Fabric floor fillers. The standout track from `The Warning' was the bruising single `Over and Over' an immediate call to arms that delivered a sly dig to those who heard them as too chilled the first time round. `Laid back? We'll give you laid back!' From magical bells, chimes and glockenspiels of the opening to the layers to the thumping beats that follow the magnificent repetition was seemingly in all of us when `Over and Over' was nominated for an Ivor Novello award and was voted NME's number 1 single of 2006. Remixes for the likes of the Rolling Stones, Scissor Sisters, The Go! Team, and Gorillaz were fashioned before Hot Chip split the duties on a 2 track 12" reworking of `Aerodynamik' and `La Forme' from Kraftwerks' Tour De France Soundtracks LP that was given a limited release on the German pioneers `Klang Klang Product' label. They then went on to compile their sublime and acclaimed DJ Kicks album in May this year.

Hot Chip have been informed by 2 years of touring across the globe taking in Australia and Japan and are about to embark on a tour of South America. Incredibly they sold out Somerset House in under a day. Live music has always been at the heart of the band, so it seems inevitable that the new album 'Made In The Dark' captures some of the band's performances in a more traditional, rock music fashion. Powerful amplifiers, keyboards and distortion have all crept into the Hot Chip arsenal.

This tougher sound is no more evident than on the Todd Rungden sampling anthem `Shake A Fist' which created a massive stir when it crept out on a limited etched 12".

`Made In The Dark' showcases more ballads from Hot Chip than ever before and a great appreciation of deep soul. Alexis' voice sounds as tender and beautiful as ever evoking an angelic sensuality of folk acts such as Bonnie Prince Billy and Richard and Linda Thompson. Title track `Made In The Dark' and `We're Looking For A Lot Of Love' are perfect examples.

Soulful introspections aside songs such as `Bendable Poseable' provide further rhythmical chaos and `Ready For The Floor' and `One Pure Thought' add pure, unadulterated head rush pop into the mix. No song sounds the same but each has it's place, no surprise coming from songwriters who grew up on "Sign 'O' The Times" and "The White Album"

This is a record recorded largely at home and produced entirely by the band (with valuable help from live sound engineer Jonathan Digby). Remarkably, tracks such as `Hold On' and `Out At The Pictures' were recorded fully live as band and in one take. Throughout `Made In The Dark' there are echoes of earlier songs and styles, steps forwards, backwards and sideways.

Clarke's signature guitar and keyboard riffs, Doyle's high calibre musicianship and Martin's programming skills have combined with the considerable talents of Goddard and Taylor in a way making the songs even more propulsive, repetitive, rhythmical, methodical, wonky, intimate and beautiful than before.

Hot Chip are, Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke and Felix Martin.

`Made In The Dark' is set to be preceded by the effervescent and irresistibly addictive first single `Ready For The Floor'.

`Made In The Dark' was recorded by Hot Chip largely at home.

Customer Reviews

Immensely Creative and Wonderfully Unpredictable (It doesn't get better)
This is my first Hot Chip album, and am well and truly shell-shocked by the originality of this group. It's so refreshing to hear an album that is creatively pure, you can almost visualise the band in the studio enjoying themselves as they went through the process of refining this sweet gem of a cd. It doesn't feel forced or restrained in anyway, it just goes with it.

I'll even go as far as to say this is as originial as Jeff Mills' 'At First Sight' or 'Metropolis', which I hold up as two of the best ever. But while those albums explore the outter reaches of the techno universe, 'Made in the Dark' creates a new universe rich with smooth blends of tech, funk, disco, and pop. You can even hear elements of hip hop! This is as unique as you'll find these days, I'm so pleased that there are guys out there thinking outside of the box, and being truly artistic!! Best tracks on the album: 'One Pure Thought' and the stonkin', funked up 'Don't Dance'. I'm on my way to get a copy of 'The Warning', enjoy!

My first taste of Hot Chip
This album has taken me by surprise. I didn't buy it for me but for the other half. Truth is though, many tracks have caught my ear and I've been playing it sneakily by myself too when no-one else is around, but don't tell her will you?!

You see, I wasn't really expecting an album displaying such a diverse range of electronic influence. Being a fan of Jarre and Kraftwerk, there is more than a nod and a wink to these classic artists here, as well as more contemporary influences such as Groove Armada and even The Streets.

All in all a great album. 4 stars!

Not a worthy follow up
To be quite honest, I don't really like this album that much. Its a pity, since the first album was really very good, and the second was really rather good too, but this time around it seems rather... boring. For one, it lacks a lot of the delicacy and finesse of the first album with a lot of the tracks feeling much more 'in your face' and faster paced. If you like the motion and delicate core of the other two albums, the first one especially, then you may be disappointed with this. Get 'Give Up', by the 'Postal Service' instead.

A lot of my disappointment may also be with the recording quality, which is far more dynamically compressed than the first album.

Still, its not actually bad, its a good album, it just doesn't live up to Hot Chips previously high standard.