Hot Chip – A Bath Full of Ecstacy
Synth-pop – Released June 21, 2019 – 9 songs, 48 mins
ROZ’s album drop:
I’ve been really feeling the indie/synthpop playlists lately, and a band that keeps popping up is Hot Chip. I’ve listened to their stuff before and have generally enjoyed most of the songs I’ve heard. I did a deep dive on them earlier this week and noticed that they have a new-ish album out! Let’s go on this new music listening journey together. Hot Chip – A Bath Full of Ecstasy (Mmmmm.)
REID
Mmmm Hot Chip. Let’s hope for the Sweet Chili Heat variety!
The day before I listened to this album for the first time, I rewatched Rocketman, the Elton John biopic. I couldn’t help but get immediate EJ vibes from the opening lyrics and piano notes. Let’s just say the comparisons end there. Neither Melody of Love nor Spell do much for me. I enjoy the verses of Bathful of Ecstasy but the chorus ruins it for me. Auto tune has its place in today’s music but this isn’t it for me. Things pick up with Echo and Hungry Child. I genuinely enjoy them both and could see them played in a club setting. I couldn’t help but think of the song African Child from Get Him to the Greek for the latter track. That reference is overall terrible but that is a hilarious movie. Here’s to hoping we’re stroking the furry wall on May 1st boys. Honestly the positives for this album end there. None of Positive, Why Does My Mind, Clear Blue Skies or No God do much for me. There are moments but not enough to keep me interested.
I really struggled to get into these guys. There were elements I enjoyed but overall it’s just not my taste. Remember years ago when Doritos had the roulette bag with the chance of a fiery surprise? Well, that’s what these guys were to me; some good but mostly shit.
Overall Rating – 5.4/10
Favourite Song – Echo
ROZ
This album was an interesting journey for me and was one that really benefited from our review schedule being pushed a week, since I ended up listening to it around 20-30 times. While the initial few passes didn’t do a hell of a lot other than one or two that became instant earworms, I ended up really loving it by the end.
The album admittedly starts slowly, but for me it really picked up as it went on. It wasn’t until the titular track Bath Full of Ecstasy where I really started vibing – while a bit of a strange one, it had me feeling like I was really starting to “get” what the band was going for on this album. The hook of Echo was stuck in my head constantly, and that echo effect when he says “echo” is pretty damn crafty from a production standpoint. The catchiness continued with Hungry Child, where the synths, pads, piano and bass all started really coming together. This one had a retro synth pop sound that I’ve been craving ever since I got hooked on the band Cherub a few years ago. When the kick drum cuts into the mix around 1:52 we go full Disclosure mode and now I’m having a great time! I really really like this one. Positive comes up next and again, super synthy, super catchy pop. “We get together sometimes, talk about how we used to get together sometimes” – that shit’s hitting different these days. Big M83 vibes on this track and another personal favorite. The tracks slowed down a bit afterwards but Why Does My Mind and Clear Blue Skies still got a lot of plays from me.
Like I mentioned when I dropped this album a few weeks ago, I’ve been on a real synth-pop kick and this album fit into that box very nicely. There were some strong tracks and some not-so strong ones, but the only one that I wasn’t particularly fond of was No God. The bonus edit tracks at the end of the album (specifically the Hungry Child edit) still get a lot of airplay from me while I’m cruising around in the car. Hot Chip – A Bath Full of Ecstasy gets a thumbs up from this guy.
Overall Rating – 8.4/10
Favourite Song – Hungry Child
LUNDI
Fun fact: Hot Chip was one of the first bands I ever seen outside NL. They played Osheaga in 2013 which was my first festival. Closed out a side stage on Friday which I went to instead of seeing Beck. Light show was so good.
When I listened to them back then for festival prep I was always underwhelmed by their albums. They’d have a couple of good songs and the rest was mediocre. Pleased to say after some listening this week that they seem to have finally nailed down a full album. This is no doubt my favourite of theirs to date.
One thing is for sure, these guys know how to use a synth. This album is filled with summer vibe tracks and consistently melancholy vocals. This shapes up to be a prime candidate for backing music to deck beers and I’ll certainly be using it for that this summer.
I honestly don’t have much negative to say here. The music isn’t breaking any boundaries and the sound is pretty much the same across the album. These are no faults of Hot Chip as it just seems they’ve figured out their genre. Overall an enjoyable album.
Overall Rating – 8.1/10
Favourite Song – Hungry Child