Released: August 19
Hot Chip return with their superb eighth studio album ‘Freakout/Release’, brimming with more of the group’s signature synth-pop excellence.
Clocking in at 11 tracks, the LP sees the five-piece reach into the darkness of the past two years and emerge with a rich, thought-provoking collection that looks to a brighter future through the lens of a challenging past.
“We were living through a period where it was very easy to feel like people were losing control of their lives in different ways,” says musician Joe Goddard. “There’s a darkness that runs through a lot of those tracks.”
Kicking off with the vibrant Down, it represents the first track Joe, Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, Felix Martin and Alexis Taylor worked on for the record. Underpinned by a sample of Universal Togetherness Band’s More Than Enough, it sparked a burst of energy that lured the group into their Relax & Enjoy studio in Shoreditch, east London, from which they completed the LP in between lockdowns and restrictions.
Not only was it the first music the group created post-Covid – marking the first time they gathered in the same room following their touring behind 2019’s ‘A Bath Full Of Ecstasy’ – it’s also the first time the quintet began work on a new record all together.
“By the time we were able to be back together, we were turning on a tap and having a lot of ideas being poured out quite quickly,” explains Alexis, with tracks such as Broken, Not Alone and Time all demonstrative of the impact the pandemic had on each of the band’s members.
The combination of deep, sometimes dark, lyrical themes with pop beats is a winning formula that paves an organic way forward for the group, who recently celebrated their 20th anniversary.
The collection also features collaborations, with Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon appearing on the hip-hop influenced The Evil That Men Do, which taps into current cultural issues that engaged the group. Meanwhile, British DJ and musician Lou Hayter lends her vocals to the slinky Hard to Be Funky, and production duo Soulwax contribute additional magic to the raucous title track.
In the wake of the pandemic, it’s inevitable that material inspired by the crisis is still being released, and while oftentimes the subject matter wears thin, ‘Freakout/Release’ adopts a forward-thinking approach, crafting music inspired by Covid yet tailored for a post-Covid world.
The result is a pivotal album in the group’s catalogue, which sees them reflect the mood of their audience and fan base while delivering a collection that’s quintessentially Hot Chip, packed with neatly crafted electronic gems that sit comfortably alongside their superb discography.
‘Freakout/Release’ is available now.
