7/10
Since their early beginnings, Hot Chip have always been a well-refined production machine. With Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor acting as the proxy producers for all of their material over the last fifteen years, the band have never really been interested in working with outside interests until now. With heavyweight names such as Rodaidh McDonald and the late Philippe Zdar lending their expert flair to a number of singles on this new release, their seventh album 'A Bath Full Of Ecstasy' not only sounds more rounded than their previous efforts but also sees them rejuvenated with a stronger sense of purpose.
When it came to their last LPs, 'In Our Heads' and 'Why Make Sense?', it seemed very much like Hot Chip were just going through the motions. Still very enjoyable records but not really breaking any borders when you compare them to their first few releases. But with 'A Bath Full Of Ecstasy', it seems that they have been given a new lease of life as their meander their way through a progressive and cohesive collection of euphoric electro-pop additions, giving this return a far more reassured feeling than we have heard from them lately. Keeping the direction of this record as focused as possible, we are treated to an incredibly well conceived return that still manages to pay homage to that classic Hot Chip sound.
While it is still missing a lot of their more out-there examples that we usually get to hear on their albums, 'A Bath Full Of Ecstasy' looks to present a more succinct direction than we have heard from them before. A sweeping and swooning collection of wildly psychedelic electronic adventures, it really feels like Hot Chip are heading back to their best.