Davin O'Dwyerreviews Hot Chip at the Tripod, Dublin
"THE JOY of repetition really is in you," sings Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor over and over again in their dance classic, Over and Over, and in that one line, Hot Chip reveal the key to their appeal - never has a mainstream music act so skilfully mastered the art of repetition. Of course, all music depends on the repetition of phrases and sequences, indeed the minimalists forged an entirely new musical genre from intense repetition, but Hot Chip's brand of music is far from minimalist - their melodies are rich, with layers of synthesisers and guitars stacked on top of one another, while their lyrics rejoice in hammering away at lines, until the whole fusion lodges firmly in your head.
That repetition should be the keynote of the band, however, is ironic, because their live performances are notable for the alacrity with which they don't repeat the sound of their records. More than most acts, their live renditions consistently - and sometimes radically - reinvent the recorded version, and while the initial unfamiliarity can be alienating, the reward is usually great. The versions of the songs that exist on their three albums, Coming On Strong, The Warning and their most recent, Made in the Dark, are evidently not canonical. Rather, the record is but one variation, a snapshot of a constantly evolving piece of music. Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard are sought-after remixers of other artist's work, surely because they are constantly "remix" their own material. Thus, their signature tunes such as And I Was a Boy From School, Crap Kraft Dinner, No Fit State and Hold On are initially unrecognisable, before growing into wonderfully distinct iterations of themselves.
For many acts, reinventing their songs in such a way often appears self-indulgent, challenging the audience to stave off boredom with their own material, but in Hot Chip's case, such reinvention is at the very heart of their success - you follow Taylor, Goddard and the rest of the band because you know they will take you on a musical journey worth taking.
They are, in many ways, this decade's New Order, without the miserabilist foundations. As with New Order, the synthesiser unashamedly underpins the beats and tunes, catchy melody is pervasive, and above all, their music demands the audience dance their heads off. During this show, the joy of repetition was in all of us.
