Hot Chip are a five-strong electro-pop troupe from London and all puns, crap jokes and terrible names aside, they're really rather good. Their 2004 debut Coming on Strong saw them inducted with honours into the Minor League of Electro Stardom (small fries, if you will), but fail to infiltrate either the mainstream market or the charts. Nonetheless, they've returned with sophomore outing The Warning; and with support slots to Goldfrapp, LCD Soundsystem and Mylo under their belt, are ready to batter their way into the average music-buying Joe Soap's consciousness. At their heaviest, Hot Chip are a more buoyant Aphex Twin; at their most ethereal, a dreamy, spaced-out Lemon Jelly/Beck chowder. Comparisons with Royksopp's Melody AM are inevitable, though not completely erroneous. There's a thick streak of experimental, effervescent, celestial dance-pop running through The Warning, but Hot Chip's music contains both more diversity and depth than anything the Norwegians have dispatched. From the spacey drum 'n' bass of opener Careful, to the twisted, rock-blemished Ladytron doggerel of Just Like We; and from the two-step garage/synth-heavy So Glad To See You to the dishevelled r 'n' b/orchestral Air-style chillout of Look After Me, the quintet have not only pulled several rabbits from their proverbial hat, they've convinced them to volunteer for participation in their own stew, too. Additionally, Alexis Taylor's vocals and lyrics are both charmingly twee (Boy From School, a gentle tale of loss and acceptance over a peppy, bubbly pop soundtrack) and wryly facetious ('Hot Chip will break your legs/Snap off your head' - The Warning).The Warning is an accomplished and rewarding multi-genre crossover album; and while Hot Chip won't change your life or fill your musical belly to profusion, they still provide a damned tasty snack in the interim.
