In Our Heads

9/10 any girl born after 1993 can’t cook… all they know is mcdonald’s, charge they phone, twerk, be bisexual, listen to hot chip & lie

It wasn't bad nor good, it was like listening to nothing. No feelings at all. I really have nothing to say about it. Seriously, nothing better for the 2010 decade?

Sounds like savourless rice cereals that you stare at as it gets all soaked in milk on a Monday morning's depression. How is this important in music history?

This album is actually something I'd add to my playlists. They are considered British Electronic Pop, but there are definitely some chill indie elements to it favorite track: Look at Where We Are (possibly the best song I've found during this project so far)

I was excited about this one after reading Apple Music's little write-up for it. I liked it, but didn't love it. At times I really, really liked it, and at other times, I felt like it was ostentatious hipster trash.

I found myself enjoying this more than I thought I would (like, way more), so I went back for another listen and it sounds like they're deliberately echoing some rather famous songs to get you to pay attention and then switching up the formula. It's actually kind of clever in a couple of spots. Unfortunately, there are also way too many moments that are just generic dance music, which is a shame, because I started off wanting to hate this album, and then after some time I really wanted to love it, but I couldn't quite get there. I've settled on "I'm glad somebody made me listen to this because I never would have chosen it." Best track: Let Me Be Him

tepid and flacid. Not sure why anyone would make this album.

What an awesome sound! I'd never heard of Hot Chip before this and I had no idea what to expect, but this was marvelous. Such rich sounds and great music, great hooks, great beats, great performances. Just wonderful all around. I liked it so much I'm going to listen to it again. Five stars, easily.

This totally surprised me. It is so unabashedly upbeat and happy that it at first it put me off, then after a song or two I was all in. I’m going to be checking out more from this group, because god knows I could always use some extra smiles. TERRIFIC!

Bro what the hell this is some of the best music I’ve ever heard. How have I never heard of this band. Easy 10/10

With most songs of this album, Hot Chip manages to beat LCD Soundsystem on its own turf--a turf filled with cold yet infectious grooves drawing from EDM regalia, eighties sugary vocal hooks, krautrock-inspired dirges, and adequate callbacks to Pet Shop Boys, Prince or Steely Dan. On paper this sort of description risks coming off like a cheesefest, but Alexis Taylor and co. very often avoid that pitfall by relying on tense and tight *minor* harmonies, giving a little substance or gravitas to the admittedly festive proceeedings. Those sorts of harmonies are the secret sauce here. Otherwise, I don't think I would like that menu as much as I do now. Only two tracks come off as awkward or hackneyed, in a The 1975 fashion: They're "Don't Deny Your Heart" on the first half, and "Now There Is Nothing" on the second. But the rest is excellent, from the somewhat ominous opener "Motion Sickness" to house-music-adjacent jam "Flutes" (concluding on a surprising and quite sophisticated chord sequence to boot!). Or from the touching, subtly layered, and surprisingly restrained and concise ballad "Look At Where We Are" to the maniacal, devilish, and syncopated off-kilter rythms of "Night And Day". So minus the two partially forgivable duds quoted earlier, the tracklisting of this LP offers a very dynamic experience of Hot Chip's talents--with songs that are both in the same vein and yet varied enough to offer fresh and new angles on that sound, and this up until the very last cut. Quite impressive. And fun, considering I wasn't too attuned to this sort of experimental pop sound when this record originally came out. I remember seeing the band live in a festival around *In Our Heads*'s release, though, and even back then I admitted they were a strong act. But, as I said, I didn't expect to like this album as much as I do now. I'm probably more open-minded to this sort of sound these days--even though said sound aged a little. Because what's interesting in that particular strand of indietronica is that it takes the best of both the indie and the dancefloor worlds in ways where the mix sounds natural and enticing. Not so easy to pull off. And even more admirable when you realize how stong the writing is, often allowing Hot Chip to avoid pure gimmickry--a flaw often found in that sort of mash-up genre. I browsed through a lot of other Hot Chip albums after listening to this one, by the way. You have stellar gems in some of them--like "Over And Over", "Boy From School" and the title track on *The Warning* ; or "One Life Stand" on the LP that bears that song's name... Yet it's clear to me that *In Our Heads* is the band's most convincing offer in a long format. As of now, at least. Sometimes hits are not what makes a record great. Sometimes it's the overall story, or the whole adventure, whether the latter are in an LP, a film or just in your heads. Glad Hot Chip got that particular "story" out from theirs. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 5. Which translates to a 9.5/10 grade for more gemeral purposes (4.5 + 5). Number of albums left to review: 232 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 332 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 195 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 248

One of the few albums that brings back memories of where I was when I was listening to it for the first time: walking next to the Cannon River in Minnesota on a warming spring day, hearing the opening tuba pomp of “Motion Sickness” and being immediately entranced by how familiar and odd it was at the same time. Hot Chip weren’t the first example of a live band doing electronic music I’d ever heard before, but I hadn’t really heard anyone else do music like this. Of course, having listened to infinitely more music in the intervening 12 years (including a *lot* more Hot Chip), the sound itself is less novel, but the presentation seems more novel than ever. Just in the first three songs, you have the aforementioned tuba/arpeggiating synth of “Motion Sickness” leading into the thumping kicks of “How Do You Do?” leading into the bombastic R&B-pop of “Don’t Deny Your Heart”. Everyone loves “Flutes” for being probably one of the best buildups in dance music, and I like it a lot too, but I take greater pleasures in other moments: the slinky vocals of “These Chains”, the unique romanticism of “Let Me Be Him”. Around this time, I got into Hot Chip’s live act, and they still remain my favorite live band even I don’t really believe in my hyperlaudatory stance that they’re the best live band currently working anymore. That live show still influences my opinion of this album…but I still love this album deeply. I’m glad a lot of you really liked it, too.

A small part of me wants to insist that Hot Chip makes some pretty bad music, but it just goes directly into a specific part of my brain and pulls all the right levers. It's instant dopamine and completely addictive.

Love Hot Chip's blend of alt-pop and dance music. They make really interesting tracks and this album is up there.

I've been a fan of Hot Chip for a while, though I haven't listened to this album before. I've always seen them as a singles band, the few albums I've listened to are inconsistent (at their lowest: mid, at their best: fantastic), this album hasn't really changed my opinion on that, however this is the most consistent they've been. The highs on this album (obvious picks are Motion Sickness, and Flutes, but I'd put Night and Day in there too) are nothing short of phenomenal, Flutes in particular (I knew the song prior to listening to the album) is one of the best pop songs of the 21st century in my opinion. The songs in-between are for the most part quite well put together, there's a few dips in quality, but there is a pretty significant gulf between these songs and their best.

BL: this is my first 100% “blind listening” do not know anything about any of the members and after a quick google around I can’t see any obvious links other than they wrote a song for Katy Perry a long time after this album came out - so I will give it a listen. AL: wow. I thought this album was great! Very cool electronic pop album which reminded me a lot of Air, The Postal Service and at some points Daft Punk. The synth hooks and vocal lines were incredibly catchy and offer a lot of Lo-Fi groove similar to some of LCD Soundsystem’s “Sounds of Silver” album. This was very appealing to listen to the whole way through - I absolutely loved tracks 1-7, the last 4 tracks however I felt were slightly weaker than the previous 2/3rds of the album. I highly recommend this overall and would definitely think it’s worth the listen, Favourite tracks: “Motion Sickness”, “Don’t Deny Your Heart”, and “Night and Day” 4/5

Hot Chip is not exactly the Michelangelo of electronic music. Luckily it’s often much more fun to hang out with his dumber brother and just enjoy yourself.

A good summer record! Bouncy and sunny, but not without depth and a bit of drama. Celebrating life, being together, being human, what's not to like? It's ironic that it's called 'in our heads', given how much it makes me want to get out of my head. And it sometimes succeeds. This would probably be a really fun live act.

Great soft electronica with clear British vocals and elements of indie rock. Will re visit on a club stereo.

3.5. Starts off with a bang and some great house inspired tunes later on

Great album, except for the singer’s voice

This one had a strong start that honestly took me by surprise, and the album was really listenable as a whole. This allowed me to have some fun with a genre that I wouldn't otherwise spend any time with. More importantly, it got me through some schoolwork that I had been procrastinating for weeks, and for that I am most grateful.

Weird, groovy, dance-friendly. Good ebb and flow to the tracks. A fun and memorable listen. Best song: How Do You Do?

Have kept hearing this band on the radio but never took much notice or interest in their music. DJ’ing club type music not my bag at all. However did stream this album at lunchtime. Might say everything that I fell asleep before the end of track 1 only to be woken by my son coming into the room and asking “why are you listening to this dad?” He was obviously surprised by my choice of music. He was wanting to watch an episode of Brassic so was banished elsewhere. I went without telling him that I wasn’t listening for the good of my health but because I had signed myself up to this bloody musical quest. Question was did my son’s intervention save me from further abuse to my ear lugs? Well no I did later give it another go but this time listening through my AirPods Pro rather than speakers. Listening on headphones brought out the production value of the album and I must say I was quite surprised. Sometimes albums benefit from headphone listening and this is one of them. Did not go to sleep this time but instead spent an enjoyable hour identifying and following the various electronic sounds whizzing around my head. So intrigued was I that I went onto Apple Music hoping that there might be a spatial sound version on there. But there wasn’t and in fact the Tidal version I was initially listening to sounded a lot better. Underpinning a lot of the tracks are some lovely melodies which I am sure if I listened long enough would become pleasant ear worms. Not an album I will buy at my local HMV but one I will look out for on Music Magpie. So an album which at lunchtime was a 1 but managed to sneak up to a very good 3 as illustrated by my review written over the course of today. 3/5 15/10/24

Indietronica was something really unique. Bands did the craziest things heard at that point while not being bound to a record deal. Artists like Sweet Trip created one of the earliest and craziest examples of this but Hot Chip pushed it into a whole other path, if not necessarily a forward thinking one. They made it much more Pop and much more Dance with the main goal being to have something made by them, while having a popular and fun sound that many would like. And it seems as though this worked as this album right here is really energetic and playful with pretty much every song it offers. The problem is that it's really inspired by 80's and 90's Dance which sadly isn't combined with new ideas. It was released the same year as Death Grips' "The Money Store" and this sounds like it's still stuck in the last 30 years! "In Our Heads" opens with 'Motion Sickness', a fast and Rave-like song that, while it does take a while to really get started, introduces a lot of the albums sound in a truely epic way that builds up more and more until a nice laid-back synthy melody enters and shortly after the lyrics come as well. The song really sounds like you are in some capsule and spin around until you suffer from motion sickness. It's a beautiful intro to the album and while I do have some negative aspects to point out, like the length which is too long and the intro that takes also way too long. The bridge and the outro is also not that great but the verses do really make up for that. I think it's a really good song with some really awesome momentsand a very memorable chorus. 'How Do You Do?' does get to the point faster but these vocals are... not good. They feel off and just not fitting and destroy the song for me. The chorus is pretty good and the overall vibe is kept much better but it sadly isn't as good. The song as a whole is quite okay but I have heard much better from other Electro-Dance artists. It also doesn't quite sound like 2010's. If this was 80's, super forward thinking but at that point, the 80's were 30 years ago. The slight Latin influences on 'Don't Deny Your Heart' do add a little extra to the album but like the song before, it fails to really make something outstanding. It still is a nice track and I probably prefer it over its predecessor but I still do not care much about it or what it does. It flows past me for most of it. The verses are quite alright and the synth guitar part is pretty special but other than that, just an alright song. The R&B and Soul attitude of 'Look at Where We Are' is something quite different and actually much more forward thinking. It's pretty much Proto-"Blonde" although it isn't as great or groundbreaking as this album. The bridge is absolutely shit but the rest is really enjoyable and has a lot of nice detail worked into the song. It's a good song with a lot of potential that they sadly didn't expand on and also "oh oh oh" bridge/outro that completely ruins it for me at the end. It's still alright. A return to the more Rave sounding style, now more in the 2-step and House style. 'These Chains' is something much more contemporary but it still isn't crazy at any point. It just lowballs itself and doesn't what would make it better. The have the potential but it is not used at any point and it turns the songs bland and boring. This is just average Indie Electronica with nothing to it. The more House inspired style is kept with 'Night & Day' and this time it goes much faster and more direct with it. It's still pretty much behind its time with songs like this emerging in the late 80's but it's still a pretty okay song, maybe even good. It does have its style and it goes all out with it. It's loud and repetetive but in a way where it's good. It's legit a really enjoyable song with a couple of really good moments. The albums second half is started with the laid back 'Flutes' which tries to go repetetive like the song before but it fails to make it interesting. It's annyoing and bland and simply something that I could do better in a couple of hours. It's legit a bad song. The songwriting doesn't work, the beat is boring and it combines it all into 7 minutes of dread that repeat over and over. This might be the favourite of many but I dislike it. It does get a little better in the second half but it's not enough for me to give this anything over a "slightly bad - blow average". 'Now There Is Nothing' goes a little psychedelic and tries something a little bolder with the echoy effects in the instrumental but the thing as a whole is still pretty uneventful and samey. I do not care for it or what it does. It's just basic, average, whatever you wanna call it. The synthy vocal parts in the instrumental of 'Ends of the Earth' is pretty interesting and it's really enjoyable at first but it takes way too long to get started and there was absolutely no need to strech this too 5 minutes. It might not be a bad song but it achieves its goal very fast but then drags on for another and another and another minute. It's tiring and turns the song stale really quickly. It is more interesting than others before but it isn't a big step up. 'Let Me Be Him' is another pretty lenthy one with nearly 8 minutes of playtime and also the slight House influences but this time it's done more laid back and slower. The result isn't bad at all. It's actually quite enjoyable but it again grows a little stale after a while. It just repeats itself over and over without adding much new and interesting stuff to it. It's a pretty good song at the start but I wish they tried more especially the soundscapes had some nice ideas worked into the track that had a lot of potential that later on just becomes boring and a little annoying which is why I go out of the song with a mixed feeling of "eh" and "ok" which results in a pretty average score from me. The album closes with 'Always Been Your Love', a song that pretty much is a the sonic essence of the album. It combines a lot of what made the albums sounds but this time... well, it does them even more boring and actually a little bit annoying. Not only do I not care for what the song does musically but the vocals and the songwriting are just not good. This song feels like a session leftover that was just thrown on to strech the album. It's not a terrible song but it's not a pretty good one. favourites: Motion Sickness, Night & Day, Ends of the Earth least favourites: Always Been Your Love, Flutes, How Do You Do? Rating: strong 5 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

6.5/10. Generic electronic album. There isn't much to say here. The instrumentation is alright, and I have a bit of a bias when it comes to this type of music in some circumstances. :)

I think this album spent too much time trying to catch the 80's and kinda threw everything else out the window. it has some fun here and there but the majority was unlistenable (Motion Sickness set the bar pretty well for what to expect).

A big meh

Music for those who find the Pet Shop Boys too edgy and hard-hitting. New Order-lite or Depeche Mode-lite. In fact, lightness to the point that it seems ready to drift off in to the ether and evaporate entirely. This is not to say that it's excellently evanescent or lusciously luminous, but rather that it's vanishingnly insubstantial. Rather it wants to bring back the '80s in non-salubrious ways, those bits that were surely left behind. One supposes it might be considered danceable, but one doesn't personally condone such activity or necessarily consider danceability a merit in evaluting albums for deathbead worthiness (as if one will be dancing then and there). The odd hook comes thru – the guitar (perhaps not synthesized) hookiness on "Don't Deny" – but the overall effect is of disposable and forgettable pop music. The last cut "Always Been Your Love" is best, a modestly tuneful pop bon-bon that features actual guitars and string (rather than a wall of sugary, synthy silliness) though it's possible one was just relieved at finally being able to move on to something else. And let's be honest, their later work hasn't much exceeded the promise suggested by one of the titles here – "Now There Is Nothing." They've not got any better and still somehow get airtime (adding annoyance to one's overall Hot Chip experience). The name is cool, too; one expects a surf punk band maybe, or something maybe Strokes-like and the unpleasant surprise must also be considered a knock against this exceedingly modest, humble-for-a-reason work.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, but the overly electronica songs are too much. 2 stars.

Pretty inconsequential. There is just nothing here for me.

This didn't achieve what I wanted. Underwhelming

Nope. That hour felt like three.

Meh. Your heads weren’t so interesting to me.

barely listenable

Trite and tedious. People who dislike synth and/or electronic music: I get you, I really do. When a record like this is held up as a reference point, I fucking hate it too. The only difference between this record and the 80’s synth pop records that this list so fond of, is that there’s 30 years between them. There are plenty of great electronic musicians making interesting, innovative and challenging music, like Oneohtrix Point Never, or Floating Points or Fourtet, but they don’t rank for the creators of this list, apparently. …but if you’re making some shit in the 2010’s that sounds like it should’ve come out 1986…Congrats and welcome to the list! I really, truly, hated this record. Here’s 3 records you should listen to instead: Floating Points - Crush (2019) Fourtet - Rounds (2003) Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (2023)

After getting more post 2000s albums I feel like the author could’ve used some help on what albums were actually influential during this time. This album is not influential in any way. I just feel like the author randomly heard this one day and liked it so put it on the list. It’s just safe synth pop. And I hate post 2000s synth pop. I guess points because I didn’t actively hate it? But that’s why I usually hate synth pop. It’s safe and makes me feel absolutely nothing. It makes me feel bad I rated other albums lower bc at least they were trying something new and made me feel hate. Rating: 1.5

Sometimes I really hate doing this. I can only hope for a better selection tomorrow. Why is this here? WHY?!

This kind of 'knowing' pop leaves me cold. I don't really get what they are trying to say here, beyond the slushy 'quirky' love song vibes. One of those bands that takes what they think are the 'best' bits from lots of others who have gone before, without seemingly adding much of their own. Bad Disco Pop that adds nothing new to music.

Dull dull dull

Boppy, hot chip is great for a bit of funky, chill listening with great beat, fun vocals. Each track is pretty great with no real weak ones.

Great album that somehow passed me by. I only knew 1 of the tracks from before. Will be listening again

Really enjoyed this entire LP Gave my new Subwoofer a good workout

What a perfect synth pop record for the 21. century.

I've been very on the fence with electronic music on this list. This is the first one that feels like a breath of fresh air in the genre, blending electronica with indie rock vibes and vocals. This album was just really fun the whole way through.

sweet treat time

Seriously great britpop/indie/electronic (?) album. I listened to a bit of Hot Chip growing up but never this album. The track Look At Where We Are is so good, I listened to it at least 3 times. I'll definitely be blasting their whole discography. 5 stars for me.

This was a really nice surprise. I had heard of Hot Chip, though based on the description of their sound and this album I didn't think I would like their music. I was very wrong and it was a nice break from the bullshit hippie music I had over the last two days. They remind me a little bit of Tame Impala and strike a chord for me as danceable (though, I don't dance) indie-pop music. The first four songs are incredibly catchy and I don't even mind the length of the last two songs, Let Me Be Him and Always Been Your Love. It is nice to get surprises on this project and this was a very pleasant surprise. This isn't necessarily very deep music, but it is fun music and something I enjoy listening to.

What a totally killer electronic album. Flûtes and Ends Of The Earth are two stellar tracks. The closer is a really strong one as well

Well it's an absolute belter isn't it. Hot Chip are grand as they come. DON'T DENY YOUR HEART

This contains my favourite Hot Chip song, Flutes, and Hot Chip are one of my favourite bands so has to be 5! HOT POTATO, HOT POTATO!!

One of my favourite albums. Had this on repeat during my early twenties so it holds quite a bit of sentimental value. Flutes is on my list of all time top tracks.

Yeah, Hot Chip is a great band and this might be their most consistent effort and it got Flutes, so 5 stars.

For some reason I lost interest in Hot Chip after One Life Stand, but In Our Heads really good as well. It took a few listens, but even the songs I wasn't sure about initially turned out to be pretty strong.

This is incredible, so original and funky

This album, as well as Why Make Sense, represents to me the best of the music taste my brothers passed down to me. They showed me much of what I came to enjoy, and I associate each of these albums with them for different reasons. Current #25 of all time. Thanks, bros.

nice

Had geen idee wat te verwachten. En dit album bleef nummer na nummer verrassen. Ik werd er zowaar erg vrolijk van. Toffe ontdekking!

The hipster band it's ok to like.

I've listened to Hot Chip a little ("Ready For the Floor"'s cool video was on my iPod video back in the day), but never dove super deep in. It has always amazed me these five, accountant-looking British guys can make legitimately great dance music. I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this album; it sounds like a killer remix album for an already-killer pop album. I think it stumbles once or twice ("Now There Is Nothing", and how do you not use "Let Me Be Him" as the closer?), so I'd call this a 4.5. I'm rounding up due to the fact I threw it back on once I had finished, which hasn't happened frequently on this list. Favorite tracks: "These Chains", "Night And Day", "Flutes", "How Do You Do?"

Look at where we are is a beautiful song, and it is surrounded by a vast array of energies, each presented in sometimes chaotic, sometimes soothing electronic sounds.

I was miffed the album with Over and Over wasn’t on this list. I owned that album in the 2000s. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Seems like a cool record to put on to impress people with your indie cred.

Never heard of this guys, love the album, I'm now a fan

I don’t really agree with the classification of In Hour Heads, by Hot Chip, as electronica. Yes, those sweet synths and and beeps are there, but the album has a sort of rock indie taste in as well, a little pop. That’s why I feel like I like it so much. From the jump, with Motion Sickness, it feels like this grand opening to a movie song, with compelling instrumentals and perfect cadence. The next 5 songs go on to be equally as good, with How Do You Do? being one of my favorite electronic songs ever. I’m looking forward to more music like this, as this is probably the most versatile and diverse album this project has taken me to. All in all, In Our Heads Is an amazing album. Best Song: How Do You Do? Worst Song: Let Me Be Him

Never heard of these guys… I really enjoyed this album. Good chill songs

Unexpectedly loved it. Maybe because I was getting soaked by rain on my bike while listening and it somehow made me less grumpy about it

Certain albums I already have in my record collection, and this one is WELL WORN. Hot Chip are a collection of gearheads with encyclopedic knowledge of music and channel it into this blend of live house music with pop structures. Beyond that, for a band that came out of the "indie-sleaze" era, these well-written songs have an amazing balance of equal parts heart and humor. This one takes me back and I'll always keep circling back to Hot Chip, and this is one of their finest and most cohesive of their catalogue.

Great album.

Why have I never heard of Hot Chip before?!

So stoked this is on the list. One of the greatest albums of the 21st century. Fond memories of waking Mit around Norman Park on Friday arvo with a beer in hand and this on the iPod. Start to finish perfection.

It's so good

listening in car with rear speakers, on a cloudy day.

Damn fine album

Yeahhhhhh 🙌🏼

I can’t stop listening to it, so easy and relaxed

Ambient, funky, poppy, whimsical, sad lyrics

One of the best of the decade.

A classic 2010s album. Some real bangers on this one.

Excellent album! Forgot how much I like these guys. Every song was great. I’ve been skipping over them on shuffle lately but they’re an awesome band

Love it! Where has this been? How did I not know about this? I can't stop listening! Night and Day. <3

LOVE IT

Awesome vibes.

Solid follow up from Hot Chip

Hyvää elektronista poppia ja monen tyyppistä. These Chains tai joku hyvä uk carage viba ja flutes kova

Good, upbeat synth pop music with "novelty" guitar song! Gets under your skin and is pretty infectious.

this was kinda sick actually

Nice album.

-1st note unrelated to the music... streaming has a stained-glass version of the cover art that I like quite a bit more - is this what they mean by "eat hot chip and lie" - In Our Heads continue the trend of modern albums on this list that sound like they're representing older decades. (Queen of Denmark, Kiwanuka, hell even Chemtrails Over the Country Club) Here's the thing my lil chili babies, I like those decades a *lot*, so I shouldn't be complaining at all. -This sort-of renaissance of New Order & the Pet Shop Boys hits the spot, because it's derivative in a good way. The nostalgic synth bass of "Night and Day" is appropriated in a very funky and strange melody that isn't easily put in a box (cuz Boxing Day) - "These Chains" has a shuffl-y, UK garage sound, but enhanced with dreamy effects and, temporarily, a martial snare beat. None of these elements sound out of place to me - if there's any reason why this isn't a 5 star classic, maybe it's that I underrate dance albums. Or that crave a more demented energy right now ( i.e. "Night and Day") over more polished tracks on display here ("Look at Where We Are", "Let Me Be Him") December 26, 2023 📦 HL: "Night and Day", "Flutes", "Always Been Your Love", "Motion Sickness", "Don't Deny Your Heart"

It grew on me, initially neglecting as a hipster indie record. Beautiful innovative synth pop with a retro vibe, definitely evokes a lot of 80s post-disco. "Don't Deny Your Heart" could definitely be an early Madonna song. Meanwhile, some tracks like "Look at Where We Are" slow it down as part of the contemporary chillwave movement. His vocals are pretty versatile, taking on different genres from track to track, whether soft, hard, or weird. Either way, to dance to or pay attention, the synths are lush with cool production effects that make it a chill and fun listen from start to finish. There are weak tracks, like "These Chains", but the synth effects are still entertaining and fit appropriately.

Well, I think this might be the biggest surprise out of any album I've listened to so far. First of all, I was surprised to even get a relatively modern album. Sometimes it feels like this list is just 90s and earlier, so getting something from 2012 felt pretty nice (even if that was 11 years ago). What really surprised me with In Our Heads by Hot Chip is just how much I liked this album. I was really worried that I wouldn't be a fan of this album. I don't know why, but I just wasn't that excited. After listening to the album? This is pretty great! I had to make sure that I was in the right mentality for this album, as I had heard that it wasn't anything super mindblowing or complex. I just had to expect a pretty fun album with decent music. With that in mind, this album managed to exceed my expectations. The singing and writing are admittedly not the most special, but they're not actively bad either. The album is also a bit long. The sound of the album is where my praise really comes in. My favorite thing about this album is just how different each song is. They're all clearly the same genre, but each song stands out from each other in a way that a lot of albums just don't. This is a very good album that serves as a nice fun listen for someone looking for some good electronic music. Strong 4/5.

A few seconds in, I can tell I'm going to enjoy this. I enjoy their more upbeat tracks, not a fan of the slower tracks like Look at Where We Are. I was really hyped for this, thinking it would be at least 4*, but it didn't hold strong. 3*. About half to a third of songs I like. Enjoyed: Ends of the earth, let me be him, motion sickness, don't deny your heart I like How do you do, but the religious lyrics irk me. Ok, on second listen I'm more inclined to give this 4*. There's a lot of really cool moments in this album. Night and day has a cool funky start.

They’re good Hot Chip, I should listen to them more.

hit chop

A real surprise. Caught out attention from the get-go and maintained it. Will be listening to this again.

Feels like the lovechild of Two Door Cinemas Club, Chemical Brothers, the synths of CVRCHES, and dance of Flight Facilities. Overall good, and one of the first albums from this list that I really did enjoy.

4.0 - Reminds me of Brooklyn house parties in the 2010’s. Indie dance music. Dip a baby carrot in some hummus. Crack a beer you brought and put the rest in the fridge. Take a hit off this joint sitting in the ashtray. Find a seat by the open window and admire the sunny view.

Bizarre party, I want to be with you.

Some enjoyable dance stuff! I'm not always a big fan of the genre if it gets too repetitive and reliant on samples, but this is nicely written

Helt bra, mot förmodan! Svag fyra

Groovy. Indie electronic dance done right