Hot Chip
Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
22.02.08
It’s a bit corny to describe everybody’s fave electro-geeks Hot Chip as, well, hot but anyone who had to swim through the sweat at the end of their Wulfrun set will agree. The five-piece stopped off in Wolverhampton during the promotional tour for new, third album Made in the Dark but the inherent craft and inventiveness of the new songs suggest the album was made under the bright glow emanating from the numerous light bulbs residing over their heads.
Inevitably though, the end product is best experienced once the house lights are turned off. Donning a Wu-Tang Clan hoody, the bespectacled Alexis Taylor is an unlikely front man but surprisingly watchable, the focal point at the centre of his assorted band members. They’re an odd-looking bunch: one looks like a roadie, one’s got a Kraftwerk thing going on, and crowd-surfing Joe Goddard resembles a cuddlier Honey Monster. However, when they each focus on their given roles and respective musical wizardry, the collective vision of Hot Chip is quite clear.
Pop is what this eccentric troupe are all about and the zanier, the better; you get the sense they’ve been bred on the most eclectic record collections, and not one moment of listening has been wasted. A music maverick like Prince is the closest touchstone, the band’s output stretching from sleaze-funk to treacly ballads, by way of glitchy day-glo disco.
Unsurprisingly, the crowd response suggests the Chip are most loved when they pull out their full-on dance crowd-pleasers. Everyone in attendance does the monkey-with-a-miniature-cymbal bit when Over and Over is dropped halfway through the set but new tricks Shake a Fist and Bendable, Poseable don’t fail to evoke shape-pulling either.
Those who have come for a rave-like atmosphere miss the point during slowed-down moments like We’re Looking for a Lot of Love but are mostly granted their wish, the general vibe closer to a Custard Factory all-nighter than any ordinary Wulfrun gig. The really surprising thing is no-one in the audience is decked out in face paint and glowsticks, suggesting tonight is about the music and not ‘nu-rave’ gimmickry. As if to prove this, the band return with a hi-NRG encore of most recent dancefloor destroyer Ready for the Floor; by this point, the crowd have proved they are ready, willing and able to bust a groove to the most innovative pop around. Mercury judges, take note…
Luke McNaney