After 2010's relatively somber
One Life Stand
,
Hot Chip
's members resurfaced in side projects including
the About Group
the 2 Bears
, and
New Build
, all of which took different approaches to electro-pop but shared an almost tangible joy in music-making. It sure feels like some of that happiness rubbed off on
In Our Heads
, one of
's most confident, joyous, and danceable albums yet; if the band's previous album was about how seriously they take the relationships in their lives, then this album explores how much fun they have in them. "Remember when we first heard the wall of sound?,"
Alexis Taylor
asks on the soaring album opener, "Motion Sickness." This intermingling of love, music, and love of music -- all propelled by some of
's most undeniable rhythms -- carries through the rest of
, whether it's the breezily endearing '80s synth pop reinventions of "Don't Deny Your Heart," the life-affirming electro-funk of "How Do You Do?," or the soulful surrender of "These Chains" (like many of the album's numerous highlights, these two songs have
Taylor
and
Joe Goddard
share lead vocal duties).
let their unabashed love of dance music get the upper hand on two of
' most show-stopping tracks -- which, probably not coincidentally, were both lead singles for the album. "Night & Day" is one of the band's most playful and sneakily sexy dancefloor movers since "Ready for the Floor," all wriggling basslines and deadpan rap ("I like
Zapp
, not
Zappa
/So please quit your jibber-jabber,"
insists at one point). Meanwhile, the smooth house underpinnings on "Flutes" make its seven-minute journey from doubt to love all the more transporting.
is also
's most direct album yet, delivering their quirks and grooves with bigger, broader strokes that don't feel dumbed down; "Let Me Be Him" spells out the album's themes, but also decorates them with chirping birds and languid guitars that sound like an idyllic afternoon in a park. That
manage to balance their kinetic and confessional sides so well here is no small feat, and
is some of their finest and most accessible music, which is an extra treat for fans who liked
's sentiments but wished that album moved feet as easily as it moved hearts. ~ Heather Phares