7. Hot Chip - Made in the Dark
A lotta peeps were thrown by this one. Though Hot Chip’s trademark killer electro pop dance tracks (see above) are still around and perhaps better than ever, half the damn album is ballads. This would suck, if it weren’t for the fact that the ballads are fucking great. In contrast to their dense, complicated dance tracks, the ballads are sparse and simple. Usually just a single synth or piano accompanies the fragile vocals. And the lyrics are just heart-breaking (mirrored by their frequent live covers of “Nothing Compares to U”). They have become smoothed out on an R&B tip. While a full album of ballads would be harded to swallow, the number here seems just right.
