Hot Chip - Need You Now review • DIY Magazine

The scratched rumble that introduces the second single from Hot Chip’s upcoming sixth is horribly deceptive. It rolls with a steady urgency, luring you into a false sense of anticipation for the imminent crush of claustrophobia that never comes. As soon as the shocked cry of, “I need you now,” echoes out, that bubbling potency fizzles out, replaced by something unexpected, charming and astonishingly beautiful.

The title is echoed out once again, this time with a heavy heart, as the true scale of the sparse landscape that ‘Need You Now,’ inhabits is made visible. Scattered dots of electronic chimes and a shuffling background of unsure percussion help drive home the image that haunts Hot Chip. Once the dust has settled in this break-up, all that’s left is a desolate wasteland. Lyrics aren’t sung but scratched into the dirt, each one a warning that echoes through time. “We’ll be playing with a force beyond control,” they reason. For all the heavy self-discovery that threatens to weigh down ‘Need You Now’, Hot Chip have masterfully kept every moment light. It skips, rather than skulks, creating a world of quiet reflection and haunting elegance that presents a tantalising offer of exploration, even if it is undertaken alone.

Tags: Hot Chip, Reviews, Listen