Hot Chip - In Our Heads album

[Bleu Noir]

Couldn't find another thread.........just arrived today, this album is definitely their 'poppiest' and very good on the first listen, his voice isn't as annoying as usual and the production is.....sheenier and lusher (great grammar I know) and it has that St Etienne electro sadness in there too. Highly recommended.

[Bleu Noir]

This is very good folks, have had it on repeat all day to and from work - contender for pop album of the year and it has been a pretty good year, as Tori once said.

[trussy74]

I've only played it a couple of times so far but it sounds great to me.

[Electrofreaks]

Their best album!

[Bleu Noir]

Agreed, I always liked them but I LOVE this. The first three songs are exceptional as an album opener.

[jackbox]

It's fantastic, and that's saying something after One Life Stand. And Alexis Taylor's voice is gorgeous. I love how detached he sounds.

I've only had three listens on the Guardian's site - I'm waiting until Saturday when I can get my hands on the CD to listen again - but I remember thinking Always Been Your Love was one of the best Hot Chip songs I'd heard, kind of an Alley Cats Pt. 2.

love them love them love them

[SageCommeUneImage]

Another incredible album that cements their position among my favorite bands. Motion Sickness is such a good opening track, and the album is sequenced perfectly, which I feel like is something they always nail.

These Chains is particularly amazing.

[Bleu Noir]

Love the cover too.

[jackbox]

Out of interest, is anybody a fan of their first two albums? Coming On Strong feels quite weak, and The Warning feels like it's on the bad side of amateurish.

But it's good to watch a band developing and maturing with each album.

[Bleu Noir]

Anyone know how this album compares to 2 Bears stuff? One Life Stand, the last album is pretty great too but doesn't quite have the pure life affirming force of this new opus.

[jackbox]

The 2 Bears album is really good, but much more dance and less loved up than Hot Chip. Time In Mind is probably the most Hot Chippy track on Be Strong. I love the little things, like the Caribbean rhythms that play through Time In Mind.

[graffiti my soul]

Out of interest, is anybody a fan of their first two albums? Coming On Strong feels quite weak, and The Warning feels like it's on the bad side of amateurish.

But it's good to watch a band developing and maturing with each album.

I started with The Warning and really didn't like it, it does sound quite amateurish. That said, (Just Like We) Breakdown and And I Was A Boy From School are great.

[HeartSwells]

I am a big fan of The Warning, not listened to Coming On Strong though, was left cold by Made In The Dark (One Pure Thought aside), but One Life Stand was much more consistent than the previous albums I've listened too, it's still my favourite but didn't have the highs that The Warning had.

Only listened to this once on the stream and really enjoyed it, sounds like a much poppier One Life Stand, which is only a good thing.

[Electrofreaks]

I love The Warning! I think it is fairly polished.

However Coming On Strong is awful - their only bad album.

[jackbox]

My self-imposed ban on downloading In Our Heads is killing me. I'm absolutely itching to listen again!

This is what happens when you live out in the sticks, your nearest record store/HMV is 25 minutes on the train and your local Tesco sells nothing but I Was Born In The 70s and Tom Jones compilations. Damn them. And yes, I could get it from Amazon but a) it would still be a 2 day wait and b) buying music online isn't as fun as going into a proper shop.

In the meantime I think I'll try to get re-acquainted with their first two albums.

[SockMonkey]

Heard this in full today. 6.5 / 10 for me. When it's good, it's very good. When it's bad, it's bloody awful - basically most of the downtempo tracks (that AWFUL one that sounds like Supertramp or something). Some of the tracks are a bit too long, but it's innovative and retro at the same time (Chromeo sprang to mind quite a lot).

[iammylan]

It's indeed their best album yet! I am totally addicted to it at the moment.