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Whistle Stopper - Made In the Dark
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List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $8.24
Your Save: $ 6.74 ( 45% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 5099951809423
Label: Astralwerks
Manufacturer: Astralwerks
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Astralwerks
Release Date: 2008-02-05
Studio: Astralwerks
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Hoy Chip have not reached their peak yet
Comment: I would never hesitate to say that this is a very awesome group, overall, dispite their missteps. However, their albums have a wierd effect like it's impossible to be in the mood for every part of their personality in one sitting. It's like I want to dismantle their three albums to make one that is sudo-sentimental, one that is fun-loving with solid beats, then a third that is awkward and bizzarre. That way I could keep the third one on the shelf and not have it get in the way of why I love this group. As it stands, they play out like an awkward mix of Air and Ween, and their new album, while clearly showing acheivement, is no exception. I am not an MP3 person, per say, but if you just buy the songs that immediately sound awesome from their 3 albums and then shuffle the songs...that is as good as this group gets. Everything else is more of a anti-social personal exploration type of music...quirky stuff to study in headphones.
Their best song is still their first single "Playboy" although each album does have it's treasures.
PS: the DVD is just OK...nothing to justify a price increase really, but more of a thing to let you into the band's vibe and the way these songs were designed to function on stage more like the group "Battles" or "!!!" (AKA: Chick Chick Chick, or Chk Chk Chk), meaning the songs are a bit of an open groove when they are performed. The overall packaging, while classy and minimal, is kind of non-descript and plain as well. Perhaps this whole thing is better as a download...perhaps.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hot Chip - Made In the Dark
Comment: Made in the Dark (2008, EMI) Hot Chip's third studio album. ****
The electro-pop quintet have crafted a master album on their third outing entitled Made in the Dark. The wide range of influences makes it very diverse, and while not all of them are magic, many are. Most notable is the lead single "Ready For the Floor," a disco-inspired dance piece. Alex Taylor's soft falsetto paired with signature 70's-style synths make it sound like something Blondie would have tried. Another key moment is the track right beforehand, the club-beating "Shake a Fist." For a while, the track is fairly minimal, with a solid drumbeat backed by occasional keyboards. It is again Taylor's vocals that give the song life, especially during the chorus of "Out and out and out/Out and out and out/Shake a fist/And let's breathe it in without," in which the beat is impeccable. The only dry moment is on the album's title track, a strange piano ballad. Although the mood that Hot Chip attempted comes through, it can't fit in an album laden with bouncing and crunching electronica. Overall, Made in the Dark is something to be cherished, a sincere moment in electro-pop. (Out at the Pictures, Shake a Fist, Ready For the Floor)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Electronica for the 21st Century
Comment: I'm a big fan of 80s alternative rock. When I heard Shake a Fist on World Cafe, I thought it sounded like New Order on steroids. I was instantly a fan. There are some slow, melodic songs also, and some that get a little monotonous. But overall, it's pure ear candy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: dig it!
Comment: probably not a cd that everyone will appreciate, but one that i really dig. this cd will get ya movin and has punchy lyrics and infectious songs. i swear that my dog loves "ready for the floor". good stuff.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ...And That Must Be Why There Speakers Were Turned Off..
Comment: ...While making the majority of this album. It was "made in the dark" & they couldn't see the damn power button on the speakers. In all seriousness though, this album is nothing compared to their previous effort "The Warning". Most of this album is just noise generated from a computer with only a few exceptions. "Hey, but it's art man"! No it's not, seriously, it's a bunch of guys who got a big head after releasing their 1st album & apparently raced through a 2nd album to make some more cash before their 15 minutes run dry.
Those few exceptions mentioned earlier being "Shake A Fist", the title track "Made In The Dark" & "One Pure Thought" are okay, but not worth even the $7.99 Amazon is asking for it. The same crowd that dig this album are the same artsy weirdos that wear women's jeans & got into "LCD Soundsystem" just cause it was the weirdest thing around at the time. Aside from the 3 tracks listed, there's not one track worth a repeat listen, & even the 3 listed above wouldn't warrant more than maybe a couple more listens at best. I wouldn't ever dig out the album just to listen to those couple of tracks, put it that way.
I was a big fan of their 1st album, with hits like "Over & Over" I had high hopes for their future work. If this is the best they can do, I won't be around for the next one. Check out "MGMT", "The Whip" or even their 1st album "The Warning" for some good Alternative Electro stuff, skip this one though, you'll probably be dissapointed (unless you're an artsy weirdo :P).
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Editorial Reviews:
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Made In The Dark is Hot Chip's third full-length release and the follow up to their critically acclaimed album The Warning. This new installment shows Hot Chip at its best-
wonderfully quirky, clever, soulful and poppy. The sound of the band has evolved towards a wilder, heavier electronics, though still coupled with a signature pop aesthetic.
This tougher sound is no more evident than on the single Shake A Fist which created a massive stir when it crept out at the end of 2007 on a limited etched 12". Ready
For The Floor and One Pure Thought add pure, unadulterated head rush pop into the mix. Made In The Dark also shows that the band is equally at home creating songs
of intimacy and melancholy as they were dancefloor fillers.
The band come together with Owen Clarke's signature guitar and keyboard riffs, Al Doyle's high caliber musicianship and Felix Martin's programming skills combined
with the considerable talents of Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor in a way making the songs even more propulsive, repetitive, rhythmical, methodical, wonky, intimate and
beautiful than before.
Throughout Made In The Dark there are echoes of earlier songs and styles, steps forwards, backwards and sideways. The band recorded several tracks on the album live
in one take such as Hold On and Out At The Pictures which is rare for any band these days, but even more so for an electronic-pop band.
Hot Chip straddle the line of electronic and pop so well as we feel there is appeal for the band in many musical tastes. The hipsters who found and love Hot Chip will still
be lured in by their originality and inventiveness, whereas the undeniable infectiousness and catchiness of their music should bring them a wider audience.
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