MUSIC REVIEW -- HOT CHIP

Hot Chip

One Life Stand

(Astralwerks )

British electro-pop duo Hot Chip want it both ways. Like other European (and European-sounding) groups that play around with synths and target the dance floor, Hot Chip welcome the distance that being a smartass provides. Yet they can’t help but get all cuddly once in a while. Some of the songs on their fourth album, One Life Stand, were inspired by Alexis Taylor becoming a parent. So much for hipster cool. But there’s still plenty here to get both butts bumping and hearts pumping. One Life Stand isn’t as frantic as 2008’s Made in the Dark (being a dad wears you down); the focus is mostly on songs, not sounds, this time. Many of the ballads flatline, but tracks like “Thieves in the Night” and “Hand Me Down Your Love” throb with nightlife neon, pulling at the corners as squeals and shrieks escape into the air. --Michael Gallucci