EP Review: Hot Chip – Dancing In The Dark
2 min read
Hot Chip released their fifth studio album Why Make Sense? earlier this year with somewhat mixed reviews, because after a three year gap between albums Hot Chip ditched their signature sound for a more stripped back synth-pop style. Although it wasn’t to everybody’s liking, the 5 piece have continue this interesting new sound, with a maybe a few tweaks, to their new EP Dancing In The Dark.
For the past few months, Hot Chip have been covering Dancing In The Dark – originally one of Bruce Springsteen’s more electronic based tracks – on tour. They’ve taken that live cover to the studio and produced a 7 minute exploration into sound and style. The thing is, the cover resembles the original almost perfectly in the first minute, not only continuing their stripped back sound with minimal synth’s, but also replicating the sickly sweet melodies of Bruce’s hit to a tee. As the chorus hits though, this grand sound sweeps over the song and all of a sudden it’s an entirely different track.
Once the chorus drops, the tempo of the back beat almost doubles and more synth’s are introduced that are layered over each other to create a brightness that’s non-existent in the original. In fact, the tone in this song is a point of interest, because it’s evident from start to finish that Hot Chip have intentionally left the harsh grunge tones of the original behind, letting Alexis Taylor’s vocals add a lightness to the track that’s unmistakably Hot Chip. The 7 minute masterpiece also includes a quick throw to LCD Soundsystems’s All My Friends, that somehow fits with the song so well.
The EP also includes two remixes of Huarache Lights and a RAK version of Cry For You, along with a radio edit of Dancing In The Dark. All in all, this is a solid EP: a more refined version of their new, striking style.
