By now, surely everyone has his or her expectations of what a Hot Chip record should sound like.  You’ve got the club bangers, and you’ve got the geek-tronica that makes you questions just why you’re moving to and fro.  Their fourth album, One Life Stand, sees the band doing much of the same, yet they finally honed their craft enough to create an album with very few imperfections.

One of the record’s longest songs, “Thieves in the Night” kick off the whole affair.  While the beats remain catchy, they aren’t as in your face as you’ve found on previous efforts, which actually propels the song along without letting the listener grow tired of redundant house beats.  You can follow that up with another similar tune, “Hand Me Down Your Love,” where the electronic elements actually aren’t forcing you to dance at all, yet you can tap your feet along just as well.  It’s reminiscent of Erasure (or Republic era New Order), a band who wrote love songs that could just as easily be enjoyed lyrically as you could dance to them.  This is sort of the story of One Life Stand; it’s no longer about creating great dance tunes, but just great tunes period, which Hot Chip does for the most part.

Middling point kind of dies down the minor tempo, slowing it down just a bit further.  The trifecta of “Brothers,” “Slush” and “Alley Cat” all take a step back from focused electronica in favor of fleshing out complete songs, albeit ones that include electronic components.  ”Alley Cat” is possibly the best of the three tracks, due mostly to the fact that the band has composed such songs without going too far out with their experimentation.  In the past, the usage of too many elements often busied certain tracks, rendering them irritating upon repeated listens; this is no longer the case.  The away the created “Alley Cats” leaves the perfect amount of room where it should be, whilst still including certain touches for the die-hard Hot Chip fan.

Closing out the album, Hot Chip go back to where you want them, hitting you with the edgier “Take It In.”  It’s a dark number, but then it opens up in the middle, bringing you back to the light.  It sort of encapsulates the whole of One Life Stand.  You’ve got some electronic fused tunes kicking up the pace in the beginning, only to sort of relax and leave room for sitting back in the middle of the record.  You can’t argue with such an ending, and you don’t need to do it, as the group has clearly closed the record in the most appropriate way.

Throughout the years, we’ve watched Hot Chip tinker with their own recipe of electro-pop.  Finally, they’ve made enough breakthroughs, as well as missteps, to have landed upon what seems to be their final recipe.  It’s hard to imagine that they’ll create much better than One Life Stand; of course, we can always hope they take the lessons learned and push even further into their development of great electronic music.

Download: Hot Chip – Take It In [MP3]

Bowerbirds took to the stage just a touch after 10:45, prepared to win the crowd over with their heavenly North Carolina folk.  One thing that struck me as odd, and this is really just me, is how strange it is to have a co-front person playing an accordion.  I understand the aesthetic quality that the accordion adds to the music, and it truly was fitting, but for some reason it just seemed weird to have Beth Tacular up front.  Perhaps this just leads for a modest stage show, but let’s face it…Bowerbirds aren’t ever going to melt your face with their live performance; they’re just not that sort of band, and we’re okay with that.

The night featured great moments from across both of their albums, Upper Air and Hymns for a Dark Horse.   Each song flowed into the night, exactly as you expected, gentle notes ringing out loud.  It would have done wonders to have singer Phil’s vocals up a little bit louder, as the music occasionally made his lyrics indiscernible.  Still, multiple part harmonies never go wrong, especially when you have juxtaposed sexes battling each other.  Particularly great editions of “House of Diamonds” and “Northern Lights” carried the weight from the album directly into the audience.  There were a few missteps that the band couldn’t help, such as the switch from acoustic guitar to electric guitar, due entirely to a broken string, but the band just went with it, so we have to respect their great resolve.

As the evening came to a close, we were graced with a great treat.  Bowerbirds were joined by Julie Doiron to perform a wonderful rendition of Neil Young’s “Tell Me Why.”  It’s such a great song to begin with, and the cover definitely did it justice, especially with Doiron’s eager vocal performance.  It brought the evening to a quiet close, one that was filled with great folk melodies and solid performances.

Many thanks to Mary Rehak (once again) for the great photos. Browse more of Mary’s photos on Flickr.

Download: No Age – N.G.F.S. [MP3]

Download: The Octagon – Radio Days [MP3]

Download: A Weather – Giant Stairs [MP3]

Finally the time has come for the release of the much anticipated follow up to All Hour Cymbals, and Yeasayer has switched it all up for you with the newest release, Odd Blood. Where they once dabbled in world music with a hint of electronic elements, they have turned the tables, choosing instead to go with electronic music that takes aim at taking over the world.  Your first listen might not offer too much, as this is a listen that requires several listens to completely unfold what lies beneath.

“The Children” opens up the album with some gothic samples that recalls old industrial music from the eighties, and the dark auto-tuned vocals keep the mood quite eerie, but there are some moments of lightness, which set the tone for the rest of the album.

We then come to the spectacular “Ambling Alp,” the band’s first single off Odd Blood. You wouldn’t be too far off if you didn’t notice some resemblance to Animal Collective, at least in the usage of samples, but the vocals don’t seem as intrusive as the latter band.  Really, this song is all over the place, which is perhaps why it’s so charming after repeated listens.

For the next three tracks you get transported immediately back to the eighties with Yeasayer. This isn’t an entirely bad thing, as the group doesn’t in their own particular way, incorporating more of their tribal meets world music instrumentation to the tunes. The opening moments of “Madder Red” as the vocals kick in just bring pure ecstatic joy, and “ONE” is just wonderful.  I love the way they play with the vocals, and then bounce right into the dance elements for the chorus.  All these songs benefit from the fact that there are extemporaneous elements all over the place, which makes the spin on such music more diverse than most of their modern-day equivalents.

When you come to the latter half of Odd Blood, you’ll find that the energy isn’t as fast paced as the early part of the record.  It feels as if the band is rushing themselves, especially when you come to songs like “Mondegreen,” a song full of horns and rhythmic vocal displays, but the elements here don’t seem to be as cohesive as they were on the early half.  Those extra touches that added so much to the first six songs sort of dissipate; this is something that causes the second half of the record to seem a bit less powerful than the first.

Throughout its duration, Odd Blood is full of so many different twists and turns that you have to give the band credit for being so exploratory in their efforts.  It might not be the most complete album the band will make, but it demonstrates that Yeasyer are willing to push themselves, and their listeners, towards a maximum musical listening experience. Cheers to that.

Download: Yeasayer – Ambling Alp [MP3]

Download: Free Energy – Hope Child [MP3]

Our good friends Knuckle Rumbler are throwing down on a party tonight at Beauty Bar called Adi Fest.  Who is this Adi person you say?  Well he’s one of the most widely known music journalists in town currently working for the Austinist.  As always with a KR event, expect great things like an Alison Narro photo booth, DJ Prince Klassen spinning in bewteen sets, and of course the complimentary beverages that start at 8pm and end when the free booze is gone.  Music for the night is all tribute bands and includes Stonefree Experience (Jimi Hendrix), Cheap Sunglasses (ZZ Top), and Magnifico (Queen).  This is definitely the place to be on Friday night.  RSVP at Do512 for $5 entry.

Download: Snake Rattle Rattle Snake – Parallel Lines [MP3]