CD Reviews

DJ Kicks: Hot Chip

By DAVID DAY | April 30, 2007

2.5 Stars

For years, the DJ Kicks series on the K7 label represented genre defining at its finest — mixes from Thievery Corporation and Carl Craig still stand up to scrutiny. Lately, though, the label has shifted the concept into a more eclectic, almost promotional direction. Mixes from Annie and Fourtet did less to strengthen a sound than show off the tastes of their curators. Hot Chip, one of the hottest bands in the electronic dance world, continue in that direction. Instead of focusing on a particular beat, the five-man band show off their æsthetic, going from boutique-shop chic (“Soundhack”) to minimal techno to new-wave pop (Joe Jackson’s “Steppin’ Out”). Rarely are the transitions smoothly mixed, and the cheekiness of the project often gets in the way. Launching the mix with Positive K’s “Got a Man,” for example, is a bit too on the nose; dropping “Bizarre Love Triangle” just before Young Leek’s “Jiggle It” seems, well, bizarre. There’s a lot to like, however, and sometimes the drop in the mix seems just right, as from the dark dance of Black Devil Disco Club into Bavarian minimalist Dominik Eulberg. The herky-jerky action of the mix, one that the band have acknowledged in many interviews, will make this a one-time-listen experience for most fans of the DJ mix CD. Hot Chip fans, though, will get into it and, more important, might hear a new sound or two that will have them making strange requests at the DJ booth.

Related: Hot Chip, Hot Chip | One Life Stand, Techno files, More

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