One Life Stand
Virgin****

If Hot Chip's previous album (

Made in the Dark

) was their Eamon Dunphy release (it was a good album, but not a great one),

One Life Stand

sees them going backwards to go forward once again. In this case, UK pop's most intriguing boffins return to the compulsive highs of their breakthrough album, The Warning. The results are hugely satisfying. Hot Chip focus on writing fluid, superbly adjusted songs, as opposed to throwing shapes that inevitably leave them in a bit of a muddle. There's a much sharper, punchier flow to

One Life Stand

as the band take inspiration from both their obvious fondness for the dancefloor and an empathy with pop's more eccentric characters. If

Thieves in the Night

and

I Feel

Better

catch Hot Chip spinning under a mirrorball, the title track is this album's most assured and scintillating calling card. No need to reach for the salt and vinegar to add flavour to this one. www.hotchip.co. uk JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: I Feel Better, Thieves in the Night, One Life Stand