Make It Hot

It's interesting to note that Hot Chip's string of great albums - beginning with Made in the Dark - coincided with their exploration of the joys of long-term relationships. Celebrating monogamy while avoiding monotony applies to how they make music, as well: on the surface, Why Make Sense? is another album of wry, kinetic electro-pop from a group that has mastered the style, but it also builds on Hot Chip's roots - and dance music's origins - in ways that sound fresh. The band reunited with In Our Heads producer Mark Ralph, and they expand on that album's joyousness, this time imbuing it with elements of R&B, hip-hop, and, especially, disco. "Huarache Lights" feels like the album's mission statement, from its slow and steady groove and un-ironic talkbox to its sample of First Choice's "Let No Man Put Asunder," a sizzling disco testament to commitment that was also sampled by the prime movers of house and techno's early days…

Their versatile sound, at times reminiscent of golden 60s, power pop, dream pop, post-punk and indie rock, demonstrates a dynamic range of songwriting prowess centered around consistently infectious, sun-soaked melodies and guitar hooks. HFHW formed in Davis, California as a noise collaboration between Adam Abildgaard and Nick Duffy in 2010, expanding to a full band when bassist Ted Davis and guitarist Nathaniel Blum joined the group in the following years. Renouncing the traditional front-manned format of most contemporary bands, the four instead each contribute songs and share the lead.