A Bath Full Of Ecstasy - Hot Chip: Review

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Hot Chip

are a British synth pop band who released a number of critically acclaimed dance records in the latter half of the 2000's and into the 2010's. The bands last release was the critically underwhelming Why Make Sense? in 2015. They have released two singles for Ecstacy that predicted a potential change to longer and more abstract songwriting.


Review By Lavender:
While Hot Chip had an excellent run in the 2000's releasing four great albums starting with The Warning and moving up to In Our Heads, 2012 feels like a very long time ago for a band that feels like they have to prove themselves all over again. While Bath Full Of Ecstacy isn't the best Hot Chip album yet it definitely paints the picture of a veteran band creatively assembling and solid, but not watertight tracklist.

I'm more positive on both of the singles within the context of the album than I was but themselves. Melody Of Love wasn't initially a favorite of mine but I've come to terms with how clean it is and continued to appreciate the songs excellent progression quite a bit. While the instrumentation is far catchier than any of the vocal melodies there is a compositional interest here that was just completely missing on the last Hot Chip album.

Hungry Child has proven to be the catchier of the two singles despite the fact that the first half features much more measured and distant singing than we are used to from Hot Chip. The payoff however is also very compelling and makes the climax in the second half of the song one of my favorite moments on the entire record. These are far from the only two track I enjoyed on the record either. Spell has a big time 80's dance-pop vibe that I enjoy quite a bit and while it is repetitive I think there is an effectiveness to its repetition. The song also isn't afraid to use some harsher and more jagged sounds to drive its point home, but even though I do like it this is one of the tracks that could have been a little bit shorter. At six minutes I feel like I've gotten more than I wanted with this track.

Clear Blue Skies is a track I thought I would end up hating but one that I genuinely enjoyed quite a bit. It's one of the most patient tracks here and while it doesn't contain the most bells and whistles of any of these tracks here there is still so much to like. There is a powerfully compelling build to the song that makes the journey very much worth your while and when it all kicks off in the songs second half every second feels worth it. Echo and Positive stand out on the record as songs that could fit in on any number of classic Hot Chip albums and while they are no Ready For The Floor both songs have some great keys and catchy vocal refrains that make them a breeze to listen to.

No God is the closer here and is quite a tame way to leave the album. The song has some highlights, I particularly like the artificial percussion laced into the songs second half. But ultimately I'm not sold on this song, especially for the albums final moments. Why Does My Mind is another track too sparse for it's own good and it really needs something to make it more worth the time it takes up. It has catchy moments in the beginning but the track is just too long without much of any meaningful adjustment to stay interesting or refreshing.

The only song I truly hated here was the albums title track Bath Full Of Ecstacy. The song features some ugly and grating autotuned vocals that last throughout every facet of the track and never get any better. The instrumental here is also a painfully generic and nondescript EDM jam that could have come from literally any random EDM producer on the radio that you've never heard of. I can't wrap my head around why Hot Chip with all their knowledge and experience would include a track like this on a record that does a lot of proving how well established they are.

A Bath Full Of Ecstasy likely won't make any new Hot Chip fans but what it does to is prove that the band is still capable of writing dance music that is compelling and interesting, as well as prove they are capable of evolving their sound and potentially even taking on weightier endeavors. While the album isn't perfect and has a few missteps I think it was just what the band needed to start getting back on track. 7/10

For more synth pop check out my review of Yeasayer's Erotic Returns here.

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