The Warning is undoubtedly one of the more awaited albums of this year and from the opening synths of 'Careful' it doesn't disappoint. This is the sound of a band that seem to have made a calculated decision to sound even more contemporary.
'Colours' is a gorgeous audible moebius strip, lyrics gradually twisting in on themselves. 'Over & Over' is so knowing it hurts, a song that it is surely impossible to dislike. As with their debut, The Warning seems unafraid of a bit of melancholy, with the wonderfully wistful 'Just Like We (Breakdown)' being a prime example. Elsewhere things are sweetly saccharine on 'Look After Me' and 'So Glad To See You'.
When the band gently insist that "Hot Chip will break your legs, snap off your head" on the album's title track upon a bed of melodic electronics and clicks and pops the effect is very endearing. The fact that one journalist (unsure of the citation - possibly The Observer Music Monthly) nearly wrote The Warning off because the band didn't sound threatening enough for this line illustrates a clear lake of understanding or musical appreciation.
The album highlight is the closing track proper, 'No Fit State', a New Order-esque to feeling decidedly off colour - probably inspired by an ill fitting sweater - that starts off on a downer but ends up soaring into the stratosphere. A beautiful piece of music that immediately makes you want to return to track one and start over, the only problem is the average hidden track that follows it up.
Essential.
P.S. Does anyone else find that 'Careful' reminds them of the title screen in videogame Rez?