ALBUM: Hot Chip 'Why Make Sense?'

Rating:

Seemingly released especially for festivals and days outdoors, Hot Chip‘s sixth studio album, Why Make Sense?, bursts with nostalgic memories of past summers, but also glimmers of hope for this year’s. Although many may think the same electronics are being used on this album, it certainly isn’t like anything that we have had the pleasure to hear before. Al Doyle stated that it could have been a double album but they were “held back” from being “indulgent”, although we would have liked to hear what that would have produced for us.

A mix of Daft Punk, Beach House and a sprinkle of The Chemical Brothers has been thrown together and they sound more like the immense live band that they are proud to be than ever. There are optimistic bangers – that lead single (‘Huarache Lights’) with its scintillating build, taking the listener ever upwards, and the nostalgic slow jams that bring us back to our British summertime. ‘Huarache Lights’ is the most “Daft Punk”, bound to sound just as good at the festivals as it will at the dingy underground clubs in London. The track hits again and again with the machine-like beat and almost R’n’B like rhythms.

Hot Chip’s fifteen years of experience can certainly be seen in ‘Need You Now’, with the beat sounding a little like the popular ‘Ready For the Floor’, from 2008’s Made In The Dark. Hot Chip almost traps the live experience into a recording and the ambience of a hot summer’s night with friends, drinking cheap cider is definitely created. Singing “tired of being myself/caught up in this world” lyrically shows what most teenagers and students are feeling right now; Hot Chip are catching the moment and slamming it into this long awaited studio album.

The deluxe edition of Why Make Sense? features the almost Skins’ theme tune-like ‘Burning Up’. Alexis Taylor sings “let’s party hard/but sleep long and late” – with an almost lullaby-like rhythm in the background; ‘Burning Up’ is designed to end a live set. Title track “Why Makes Sense?” sounds like something you stumble upon in a festival. With the heavy bass this reminds us of The Chemical Brothers and 90’s electronics. With the additional voices trapped in this heavy electronic song, this sounds more epic than we have heard the band before, making us want to seek the nearest space to play Hot Chip out loud and inhale every sense of happiness possible.

Why Make Sense? is a great addition to an already stellar back catalogue, ensuring their live sets feature even more summer soundtracking, festival sounds.

Why Make Sense? is released on 18th May via Domino Recording Co Ltd.