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Elly Roberts reviews
EMI
- February 2008
- Format: Limited deluxe edition with bonus live DVD
- Rating: 2/10
Excellent single. Bad album.
Human League, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, O.M.D, Yello, Kraftwerk, Jean MichelJarre all had it class. Hot Chip dont.
Believe it or not, theres a certain art to synth-orientated music (okay sothey have two guitarists but theyre still a synth band) as Shake A Fistsintro mentions its “sounds of the studio” rather than music for muchof this album.
Apart from catchy single Ready For The Floor that draws heavily onOMDs template, (its dropped from 7 to 15 after just three weeks w/c 17 Feb),and Hold On theres little evidence of Made In The Dark having muchof a serious chart life with it sinking fast from 4 to 19 after only two weeks,which is a good indicator.
The album starts with a warbled drone extending to well over a minute onOut At The Pictures that pans out to a crunching blast. By the timeweve reached Bendable Poseable, a dreadful synth cacophony things havereached a major low, though ballad Were Looking For A Lot Of Love hassome semblance of song writing that seems to have overcome them, but its notexactly inspiring stuff as theyre still heavily reliant on, well, machines.
Another attempt at balladeering on the title track falls flat on its face,principally because the singing and lyrics suck. It wouldnt come as asurprise if Hold On turns out to be the next single which would go downwell with clubbers a club mix could be a monster even – though they soundlike a poor man’s Scissor Sisters trying to be groovy – and Dont Dancemay get a single nod too – whereas Wrestlers is just plain awful as isthe laboured and limp In The Privacy Of Our Love, the closer.
Next time, theyll have to seriously have to deliver the goods, because Made In The Dark,sounds as if it has been.
File under: Mighty forgettable.
Weblink:hotchip.co.uk
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Out At The Pictures
2. Shake A Fist
3. Ready For The Floor
4. Bendable Poseable
5. Were Looking For A Lot Of Love
6. Touch Too Much
7. Made In The Dark
8. One Pure Thought
9. Hold On
10. Wrestlers
11. Dont Dance
12. Whistle For Will
13. In The Privacy Of Our Love
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.