Property, hot and cool

by JACK OATMON

It was like standing up Medusa, but I managed to avoid listening to the sonically watermarked promo copies of Hot Chip’s new album until this past weekend, when I scored a full, intact copy. And here’s what I heard.

The album stumbles to the first beat with the cheap synths and stilted percussion that earmark much of Hot Chip’s quirky Franken-pop, before blasting into a robotic rehash of a classic-rock riff. The usual cohesive cacophony is sharper than ever, and you know right from the opening track that the record is a banger. Then a sudden gear shift moves the mood from Beatles to Beastie Boys with “Shake a Fist,” their most cohesive aping of hip hop to date. The beat’s buzzing bottom end and aggressive vibe also remind you that the record, Made in the Dark, lives up to its name, standing as their most brooding, club-centric effort so far. The third track is the single “Ready for the Floor,” and it packs in a pile of the pretty melancholy that originally catapulted Hot Chip a few years back. The nostalgic familiarity, gentle humour and continuing eclecticism of the rest of the record, as well as the bulletproof track list, would have been more than enough to please me, but the band’s insistence on quantum forward leaps of style and musical experimentation make this record an absolute gem. Which is why you should really start thinking about nabbing a ticket to their April 15 appearance at Metropolis, cuz it’s gonna be packed. The heady days of Hot Chip shows at Sala Rossa and Lambi are gone, but this group continues to be one of the most exciting and innovative out there.

Alas, Hot Chip is months away and we still gotta worry about this weekend. While we’re waiting, I guess we’ll just have to settle for an epic outdoor rager with the residents of Ninja Tune and 4,000 of their closest friends. Drat. Ghislain Poirier, Devlin & Darko, Daedelus and Ghostbeard will be blazing through the ice on Friday from 6 p.m. till midnight at Quai Jacques-Cartier in the Old Port, and lemme tell you, last year it was the shit. If tropical debauchery and ass-rumbling bass aren’t your preferred winter styles, no worries. Hit up the same location on Saturday for techno stalwart Thomas Schumacher along with Mateo Murphy and Millimétrik. Don’t miss the definitive party of the winter, don’t forget your snowsuit, and the wise will bootleg a flask of whiskey to warm the cockles of the booty.

If you’re looking for a more intimate jam on Friday night, you’d be in good counsel to head up to la Sala Rossa for the Distroboto anniversary party featuring Think About Life, Exhaust, Giselle Numba One, Gambletron, Random Recipe and DJ Lynne T. That is, incidentally, right across from the Ra Ra Riot show at Casa, so the neighbourhood should be a bastion of wholesome indie goodness for the entire evening.

One last thing. I was recently recommended a catchy, cheesy synth-pop outfit from Iceland called FM Belfast, who do deadpan new-wave covers of pop hits, kinda like the Knife, as well as some interesting original tracks. Check them out on MySpace or download their single “Synthia” from hypem.com and see what you think.

Digitally inclined iconoclastic lush…
jack.oatmon@gmail.com