Hot Chip – Warning (EMI)

It was only two years ago that Hot Chip showed up with 'Down With Prince', a bizarre, jerky sideswipe at the sort of fairweather fans many bands rely on but most would rather not have to. If you don't mean it – really mean it – then don't bother trying, they seemed to say. It's telling, then, that after an interesting but bitty and ultimately frustrating debut album, Hot Chip have regrouped, rethought, grabbed a major label deal and legged it to the motherlode. Warning is twisted weirdo funk for masochistic Chris Morris fans – The Research mugged by Aphex Twin, but in the most pleasurable possible way. Their threats that “Hot Chip will break your legs” on this album's title track are straight out of the playground: what shines through from the lyrics is quite how lonely a hipster's life can be. Intriguing stuff, certainly, and more rewarding with every listen.

Charlie Ivens