Made In the Dark

iTunes Review

A word often used to describe music by Britain’s Hot Chip is “playful,” and while that applies on Made In the Dark, it’s hard to deny that the band’s creative flow has taken a more mature and finely honed turn. Yes, by all means put your dancing shoes on for “Ready for the Floor,” “Bendable Poseable,” and especially the six-minute-plus “Hold On,” but as you shuffle under the strobes, you won’t be able to shake the feeling that repeated listenings to these tracks will reveal new things, that there is more going on here than great dance music. Those bassy-synth lines and snappy drums, the sadly cheery falsetto of singer Alexis Taylor, the spirit of Human League and Orchestral Manoeuvers In the Dark are but the window dressing: there is something deeper Hot Chip strives for, like they’re trying to sneak into your very soul without you catching them. The band’s only misstep here is bringing the party down by working over the poor old ballad form. But several tracks go for a slightly more rock angle, with “Out At the Pictures” and “Shake a Fist” having a warmer, more human pulse and even some shy but well-placed guitars.