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Grovesnor is none other than Hot Chip drummer Rob Smoughton is all about making the 80′s hair dance classics sound relevant again and we got the premiere for his new song “Taxi From The Airport”, which comes from his debut solo effort Soft Return. The new album will be released May 25th through Lo Recordings. Hall and Oates, Steely Dan, and Billy Joel would be proud to say the least.
- Smoughton himself explains: “The music is not pastiche, I love that stuff too much. Lyrically, there’s another thing going on. You can write a novel from another person’s perspective but when you write a song and use the words ‘I’ and ‘You’ then there’s often an assumption it’s personal. The ambiguity of ‘is he for real’ is where Grovesnor comes in. He’s more of an anti-hero, and often makes mistakes or chooses the wrong path at pivotal moments. If there’s comedy in these songs, then that’s just the tragedy amplified to comic proportions.” -Between touring with Hot Chip (and opening select dates), Grovesnor, originally a solo live act, will tour with a full six-piece band in support of Soft Return. -
Do you know those types of movies in which your friends really enjoy, if not love… but to you they’re cheesy if not over the top? Of course you don’t find them all that great, because you’re possibly too cool for that kind of thing. But to your friends, they’re classic hits. For these types of movies, it’s the very thing that makes them cheesy that makes them so great to your friends.
Listening to Hot Chip’s new album, One Life Stand is similar in many ways. This album not only proves that the days of unrealistic synthesized instruments are still here, but also that it could be the very thing that lightens the mood of the album. I love a realistic sound, and even darker sounds just as much as the next guy, but there is just something about this album that radiates a carefree feeling without overstepping into the bounds of being flat out comical. Some of the vocals in tracks like Hand Me Down Your Love may leave you scratching your head as to what their purpose was in the track, but as it progresses on, the musicality of the song as a whole completely redeems itself.
While the following may sound harsh, and even possibly unwarranted, it is part of the reason I keep coming back to One Life Stand, and part of the reason I find enjoyment in listening to it. The album may sound generic and possibly over synthesized… dare I even say cheesy at times? But sometimes music with a carefree tone is just necessary. There are some quality tracks on this album.
The title track, One Life Stand was an instant favorite, with potential to be a highly remixed track for clubs and parties alike. Although, there are tracks that are far from making the same impact, there are definitely a few that grow on me a bit more with each listen. One Life Stand will not be for everyone, but others will undoubtedly enjoy it.
For the last couple years the electro-pop band Hot Chip has been a strong group in the UK, having multiple singles and remixes and their last album even received a Grammy-nomination for best dance track in 2008[1]. Coming into the new decade, Hot Chip gave us a new album that doesn’t seem to live up to what this band was at one time.
Their new album One Life Stand seems almost mediocre to what they used to be. What they should have done is taken some of the stronger tracks like One Life Stand and We Have Love and released them as an EP. But what we have here is an album that is slow to start and doesn’t pick up any speed. I found myself distracted by my surroundings rather than enjoying the music.
Most opening tracks try to give you a voice of what the album is going to bring, but Thieves In The Night sounds like a track that someone had kept locked away for a few decades- circa 1982. For the better part of the album Alexis Taylor’s voice has very little emotion, which made listening the whole album less of an experience and more like a task.
To Hot Chip’s credit, they have always been known for their diversity in song writing. This album being no exception, each song has its own style and uniqueness and that shows a lot of different aspect of what dance pop is from Latin to electro to more rock oriented riffs. I really enjoyed, “We Have Love” in particular as it is a fast tempo’d dance track that has a very infectious beat and a great lead.
One thing I expect to see is a few remixes from various DJs and DJ groups. The songs themselves have great structure and melody, but need a good chopping up to make them have more flair and color. All in all there are a few good tracks that will be able to carry there own weight as singles but rating this album as a whole Hot Chip could have written a better and more exciting record.
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