It’s been only a little more than two years since Hot Chip’s last full-length, In Our Heads, but understandably, the group’s members have been seeking other pathways to creative fulfillment during the pause. Joe Goddard’s duo with Raf Rundell, The 2 Bears, released their second LP last month and now fellow Hot Chippers Al Doyle and Felix Martin are back with a sophomore effort from their side project, New Build. Stream Pour It On here:
Recorded in both Shoreditch (at their own Lanark Studios) and in Queen’s Park (at producer Mark Ralph’s Club Ralph Studios), Pour It On breathes with the sounds of London electronic music present with ghosts of the past woven throughout. Too formidable to be dream pop and not quite radio-oriented enough to be new wave, New Build assert their comfort on the margins of subgenres without being shy about their Hot Chip-cred either, minus the scepter of Alexis Taylor’s tenor.
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Doyle and Martin along with composer Tom Hopkins tend towards the ambient on Pour It On, though even the most atmospheric of tracks are blessed with a bold song structure that makes their work not only palatable but soothing in its fortitude. If Hot Chip is the main show and The 2 Bears is the after party then New Build is for the early morning trip home (as opening track “The Sunlight” clearly indicates) and perhaps a pre-sleep energy surge too.
Tracks like “Luminous Freedom” and “Look In Vain” are standouts for their originality and execution, respectively. Pour It On is without any major missteps; the album is essentially what happens when the guys in the back of the stage step towards the spotlight. New Build’s sound is rooted in the same sources as Hot Chip’s, only more indulgent and at times contemplative if not outright moody. If only all side projects were this worthwhile.
Pour It On drops in North America through Sunday Best Recordings on November 11. The album is out now in the UK.
