When I introduced my sister to Hot Chip right after Made in the Dark came out, she misunderstood the name of the band. “This band is called Hot Shit?” she asked while I blasted “Out at the Pictures” through car speakers.
Close enough. 
With One Life Stand, the British electro-pop group continues to make hot music. This album is less frantic than its predecessor. It’s mid-tempo modern disco juxtaposed with moments of melancholy. And it’s this versatility that has always impressed me. Any band that can make me want to get up and shake it one minute and cry the next has something going for it. Hot Chip is electronic with heart.
“I Feel Better” is immediately infectious, pure dance music with deceptively slow and somber vocals. This combo repeats throughout the album: lyrics about romantic commitment (the title track “One Life Stand”) or fraternal love (“Brothers”) set to sky-high beats per minute. “Alley Cats” upsets this formula – in a good way. It’s soothing, gorgeous, thoughtful – the perfect interlude before Hot Chip’s synths come back full force for “We Have Love.”
One Life Stand just feels good. The music and lyrics are exuberant and optimistic. Every track, every phrase is perfectly developed and executed to make this the album you have on repeat for weeks. Take that time to introduce it to your siblings.
Track Listing:
1. Thieves in the Night
2. Hand Me Down Your Love
3. I Feel Better
4. One Life Stand
5. Brothers
6. Slush
7. Alley Cats
8. We Have Love
9. Keep Quiet
10. Take It In
Written by Zoe Martin
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