Hot Chip - 'The Warning' (EMI) 22/05/06

When Hot Chip’s main men Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard came together to record the follow-up to their debut ‘Coming On Strong’ they came to the awful realisation they wanted to make two different albums. Whilst Joe remained entranced by the electronic beats of rave, 2-step and R’n’B, Alexis wanted to move on to a more fragile, organic sound. Fearing for their future, they began to work on a track which would become their new album’s opening song. Fortunately, the schizophrenic ’Careful’ convinced the pair that they could meld their two approaches into one, and they went onto produce ‘The Warning’, a rare example of an unpretentious electronica album brimming with soul – with a couple of banging tracks thrown into the bargain.

Hot Chip’s clash of styles is evident throughout the album. Garage and Aphex Twin ambient beats underlay funkiness imported from artists such as Daft Punk and Prince, then placed in classical song structures. However, it is 'The Warning’s underlying sense of innocence and honesty which really makes the disparate elements blend together convincingly, giving the album a feeling of real warmth.

This is best evidenced in new single 'A Boy From School' and the fantastic 'Colours', both of which establish 'The Warning’s key theme; an almost melancholic yearning for the simplicity of childhood. Hot Chip’s vocal delivery mirrors the songs’ contrasts, with Alexis taking the high parts, and Joe responding in low tones.

However, it’s not all bitter-sweet earnestness; there are plenty of examples of a healthy playfulness – many inspired by Kraftwerk’s arch-dryness – to ensure proceedings never get too po-faced. Then there’s 'Over And Over', which, with it’s killer beat and big sing-a-long chorus, has unsurprisingly become a big club hit already. It’s a deadly dance track, grimed up with some fantastically frantic guitars from Owen Clarke.

Those expecting a whole album of 'Over And Over’s will be disappointed, but it would take a very hard heart indeed not to be won over by the more sedate delights of songs like 'Glad To See You' or the title track. Whilst not every track on the album hit such heights, 'The Warning' is a well-rounded, lovable record – and deserves to provide the soundtrack to the summer.