The Warning
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| The Warning | |||||
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| Studio album by Hot Chip | |||||
| Released | 22 May 2006 | ||||
| Recorded | Putney, London | ||||
| Genre | Electronic, Indie, pop | ||||
| Length | 52:04 | ||||
| Label | EMI | ||||
| Producer | Hot Chip | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Hot Chip chronology | |||||
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The Warning is the second full-length release from the British electronic indie band Hot Chip. The album was released in the UK on 22 May 2006 and in the United States on 13 June 2006 by DFA Records/Astralwerks. Notable tracks include the UK singles "Over and Over" and "And I Was a Boy from School", as well as "(Just Like We) Breakdown" which was featured and remixed on the DFA Records compilation album The DFA Remixes – Chapter One. The album was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize and was named the 4th best album of 2006 by NME in their annual "best of" poll.
The track "And I Was a Boy From School" was ranked at #7 on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 100 songs of 2006, while "Over and Over" was ranked at #16.[1] Additionally, the album was ranked #26 on their list of the top 50 albums of the year.[2]
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[edit] Recording
The Warning was recorded and self-produced in the band's home in Putney. NME said that the "normality of [their] surroundings" works for them.[3]
[edit] Influences
NME stated that the musical influences of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, such as R. Kelly, Wookie, krautrock, Kraftwerk, Prince and Madlib, were brought together on The Warning.[3]
[edit] Critical reception
The critical reception to the album was generally favourable, and based on 27 reviews, was given a score of 79% by review aggregate website, MetaCritic.[4] AMG said that "Over and Over" had "DFA signature production" and described the chorus as sounding "hauntingly similar to something Paul McCartney would write had he been paying attention to the music of the youth in his own backyard."[5] The production of the title track, "The Warning", was likened to outtakes by The Postal Service and it was said that it "wouldn't [sound] out of place on I Am Robot and Proud's last few records".[5] Pitchfork described the song as one of the centrepieces on the album and that "like a lot of the band's best songs, it splits into three and four parts, veering into bridges where there should be choruses, verses where there should codas, and dirges where there should be melodies".[6] Prefix's review touched on the idea of antithesis in "The Warning", which had "soft glockenspiel notes" in contrast with "violent" lyrics.[7] Popmatters also described the the chorus of as having a "patent mismatch of violence and melancholy".[8] "Boy From School" was described by NME as "a sweet, melodic mid-tempo dance anthem"[3] whilst Pitchfork said the song was "marked by Alexis Taylor's sweetly thin vocals and the heartbroken line, 'We try, but we don't belong.'"[6] "Tchaparian" and "Arrest Yourself" were named by Pitchfork, as songs that were "needlessly jagged on an album full of round edges".[6] Pitchfork also said that "momentum and retraction" of "Careful", which "opens softly and quickly erupts into choppy sample darts, then cools back down again" was "a good metaphor for the [whole] record".[6]
A number of reviews commented on the stylistic and lyrical changes between Hot Chip's first album Coming on Strong and The Warning. Pitchfork described Coming on Strong as a "successful but safe entrée to the British electro-soul outfit" and stated that although Hot Chip had "abandon[ed] a lot of the graceful, delicate melodies of the debut", they replaced them "for songs with more wallop". Pitchfork described this as a "necessary move" that produced "mostly golden" results.[6] AMG also said that Hot Chip's music had changed from the "quirky electro-pop" of Coming on Strong to create an album that was "much more focused and pop friendly".[5] Popmatters described the album as being "a step away from Prince and a step towards DFA heroes LCD Soundsystem".[8]
Two reviewers noted similarities between Hot Chip and New Order, with NME stating, "there’s something of New Order in Hot Chip [...] [with] the same mix of art school-meets-working man demeanour",[3] while AMG stated that The Warning was "like listening to early New Order records for the first time, waiting for the next one with a little bit of excited anticipation".[5]
AMG said that "the core of what made The Warning [...] enjoyable right from the onset" was a result of Hot Chip "focusing more on song arrangements and structure rather than technology and programming showmanship".[5] Prefix said that alongside exploring the theme of contradiction, "the duo explore[d] the slower and darker aspects of electronic music" with "a number of slower, adroitly manoeuvred songs".[7] The BBC said that Hot Chip had managed to "meld wonky electronics, pillow-soft soul and lyrics [together] to weave strange violence into gorgeous soul songs".[9] NME described the album as being "underpinned by a ‘fuck you’ attitude" resulting from the audience's "past ambivalence towards them" but also said that "in channelling this anger they’ve produced the finest album of electronic rock since Mylo's Destroy Rock & Roll."[3]
[edit] Track listing
- "Careful" – 3:28
- "And I Was a Boy from School" – 5:19
- "Colours" – 5:28
- "Over and Over" – 5:47
- "(Just Like We) Breakdown" – 4:12
- "Tchaparian" – 3:20
- "Look After Me" – 4:50
- "The Warning" – 4:51
- "Arrest Yourself" – 2:31
- "So Glad to See You" – 4:05
- "No Fit State" – 5:38
- "Won't Wash" (unlisted bonus track) – 2:35
- "Bally" (bonus track - vinyl version)
[edit] Album personnel
- Owen Clarke – Artwork, Art Conception
- Tom Elmhirst – Mixing
- Matt Paul – Assistant Engineer
- Richard Wilkinson – Engineer
[edit] Chart positions
The Warning entered the UK Album Chart at #34 and entered #13 on Billboard Top Electronic Albums.[10]
[edit] Album
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Album Chart | 52 |
| Swedish Album Chart[11] | 38 |
| UK Album Chart | 34 |
| U.S. Top Electronic Albums[10] | 13 |
[edit] References
- ^ The Top 100 Tracks of 2006
- ^ Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2006
- ^ a b c d e Worthy, Stephen. Hot Chip: The Warning. NME. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ Made in the Dark. MetaCritic. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b c d e Theakston, Rob. The Warning Review. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ a b c d e Fennessey, Sean. Record review: Hot Chip - The Warning. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
- ^ a b Laing-Peterson, Lars Garvey. Hot Chip - The Warning. prefix. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
- ^ a b Raper, Dan. Record review: Hot Chip - The Warning. Popmatters. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
- ^ Warren, Emma. Hot Chip - The Warning. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ a b Artist Chart History - Hot Chip. Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ The Warning Swedish Chart Position. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
[edit] External links
- Hot Chip official website
- Hot Chip discography at MusicBrainz
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