One Life Stand
Encyclopedia
One Life Stand is the fourth studio album
by English electronic
band Hot Chip
, released digitally on 1 February 2010. The physical album was released in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2010 by Parlophone
and in the United States the following week on 9 February 2010 by Astralwerks
. The first single from the album, "One Life Stand
", was released digitally on 30 November 2009 through the iTunes Store
. Vocalist Alexis Taylor
described the album as "the most warm and soulful sounding record we've made" and expressed hope that people would also say it was "a soulful quality that ties [the album] together".
The band partly returned to the creative process used in the creation of The Warning
in that some parts of songs were written and recorded in Goddard's bedroom, with Taylor also writing from his house and recording in the room he designated as a "music room". These parts were then built upon in a studio where the band had more space, enabling them to "expand on things". Goddard used Cubase to record at his house whilst Logic Pro
was used in the studio as well as GarageBand
to create parts of songs. Of the latter Taylor said, "that's what I use for recording, and that's like half of the record is going through that program". In regards to the creation of the music, Taylor stated that everyone had involvement in aspects of all of the tracks. Taylor stated that the group felt as though they had exhausted their home studio sound and the possibilities of the instruments they could use at home. Despite this, Taylor explained that he and Joe have a similar work aesthetic and that ideas would "come [...] any time of the day or night"; working on material at home would enable them to "record at home whenever ideas come". However Taylor stated, "even the studio we worked in, it's not like a professional studio that is like, top of the range. It's just a big basement with a desk and various synthesizer
s and a drum kit."
Goddard said that although the album came together easily, the band had difficulty creating "Hand Me Down Your Love" because "it was just a matter of months and months of adding synthesizers, [and] adding drum parts", which resulted in "something like 160 tracks or pieces of music". As well as this, the band needed to edit out sections that they felt were unnecessary. Goddard discussed the element of time and stated that because the band had more time to create the album, they "tried things out differently" which was ultimately "a little bit unhelpful" due to the number of recorded parts that were never used. Goddard said the band wanted to move away from synths and minimised their presence by making them more subtle. Although the band wanted the album to be a pop record and present "a unified front", Al Doyle stated that the band did not want to lose the "experimental element that [they] had before". To achieve this the band used a broader range of instruments, including a flugelhorn
and steelpan
s in combination with synths and drum machine
s, as well as a guitar, a drum kit and a piano. Doyle said it was "quite exciting for [the band] to work with that palette of instruments". Whilst the band wanted to create an album that was more cohesive, Taylor said that they did not "try to make it all sound like [the songs are] from the same record". The cohesiveness and unity of the album was a by-product of the way the band spent their time crafting it:
When the album was completed and handed over to the label, their response was positive: "Cool, we really like it".
, the song writing approach to One Life Stand was less of a collaborative effort. Only three or four songs were written as a group whilst the rest were written by Goddard and Taylor, though Doyle said "we did have input in the way it was produced". Doyle described the writing process for the album as "a bit like writing a poem" because there was "a certain structure" that the band needed to work to whilst exercising "as much freedom" as they could. Goddard described the band's approach to song-writing as a "mix of things [with] a lot of very careful thinking about rhythms, and interlaying a lot of different ideas and influences" though, at certain points, there would be the sense that something needed to occur and these elements in songs were created spontaneously from the interaction between himself and Taylor: "this melody will somehow suddenly explode in your mind. It's never planned, it just seems to happen; almost like it has to." "Hand Me Down Your Love" and "Slush" were written by Taylor whilst Goddard wrote "Brothers". Doyle stated that "One Life Stand" and "I Feel Better
" were put together "in a slightly more piecemeal way".
The album was penned in the summer, with Doyle stating that the band were trying to make an "upbeat, optimistic, summertime record". Goddard said that in previous work, the band were "nervous about being open or emotionally honest" and would sometimes "have a jokiness or guarded sense to some of the words" whereas the new album is more open lyrically. In response to a description of the album as the band's most serious yet, Taylor said, "there was no decision to be more or less comic. I don't feel more or less humorous in my day-to-day" but stated that he could hear melancholy, of which he said was in "almost everything" he writes. He explained that he did not know why this was the case and said, "I can't ever write a song that just sounds completely saccharin. Even if I'm singing about someone being my complete love life, I'm singing about my own inabilities to be as bright as that person." Like Taylor, Doyle said he felt that there was "a certain vein of disquiet and melancholy that runs through the record". Another emotion that the band felt was present in One Life Stand was love. Goddard stated that the band did not set out to write an album about love but due to them feeling "quite settled and happy", he admitted that it had come through in their song writing. In particular, Taylor wrote some of the songs whilst holding his newborn daughter. Taylor felt that due to their growth as song writers and producers the band had progressed over time, resulting in improved "clarity, melodic simplicity and strength" in their song writing.
Taylor discussed the idea of applying the album title as a metaphor for how it could be read. He felt the title suggested longevity and stated that although it was not the band's intention to create an album "that'll be around for a long time", there was a "kind of [an] underlying guide to make songs worthwhile for a long time, and not just temporary".
and Hipgnosis
reference" in the image.
, Taylor said, "I feel like the melodies on the new album are much more in-your-face, and it's more coherent." Compared with Made in the Dark, where Taylor stated he was interested in embracing the idea of "a messy double album" where each song sounds different sonically, Taylor said One Life Stand "hangs together better and doesn't feel the need to be lots of different things stylistically". Goddard stated that he felt Made in the Dark "was trying to be more futuristic, more crazy, 21st century, synthy and weird" whereas One Life Stand goes "back to basics". Taylor described the album as being "a less cluttered, less busy sounding record than ever before".
Taylor felt that the backing vocals of the song "Slush" sounded like a vocal exercise, using "the same cadence as many very famous melodies" and likened it to "Crazy
" by Willie Nelson
. Taylor liked the simplicity of "Slush" and stated that "one of the most special things about the album" for him was that Charles Hayward
, drummer of This Heat
, plays and sings in it.
on TV and [he] thought of [the] string melody [...] by kind of misremembering [the] Les Misérables
song". Following this, Taylor wrote the chorus, which he described as sounding like "La Isla Bonita
" by Madonna
. This was not the only song to be influenced by Boyle; "Keep Quiet" was written by Goddard immediately after seeing Boyle perform "I Dreamed a Dream
" on Britain's Got Talent
. Goddard said he "found it quite incredible" and listening to it made him want to write a song, which he sent to Taylor, who wrote the words and sent it back." Taylor stated that though the song "Alley Cats" was influenced by the song "That's Us/Wild Combination" by Arthur Russell
, which he and Goddard both like, the sound of the finished version was "something a bit more Fleetwood Mac-y". Taylor said that a new bass line, which gave the song a different feel, was responsible for the transformation. Taylor said "We Have Love" had a similar feel to Donna Summer
's "I Feel Love" "in terms of the euphoria of the chorus", which he described as being "reminiscent of that".
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 79, based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". The Observer
s Gareth Grundy wrote that the album "not only sees [the band] back on track, it's also their best work, paring down those past excesses and unifying them into an extraordinarily lovely whole." Huw Jones of Slant Magazine
described it as "a smooth, sleek, and splendid pop record" where "[e]ach individual track sticks to its own tone and theme, while the group gracefully sashays through several shifts in tone and tempo." Heather Phares of Allmusic noted that "their sensitive side dominates One Life Stand—they don't sound ready for the floor, they sound ready to settle down. Even the most energetic songs feel tempered compared to the neon energy of Made in the Dark and The Warnings hits." She added that "[t]hough this emotional nakedness is an unusual move after Made in the Dark pushed Hot Chip to a new level of attention and acclaim, it also shows they're in it for the long haul." Nick Annan from Clash
deemed it "different to Made In The Dark but a more cohesive and more heartfelt effort too. One Life Stand sees Hot Chip let us into their hearts as well as their thoughts." Benjamin Boles, writing for Canadian magazine Now
, commented that "[i]t's not that they've completely reinvented their sound as much as they've simply focused and polished it up. The real shift is in their attitude, which allows them to embrace earnestness and write some straightforward love songs. It's a strategy that could have backfired, but instead it has inspired their strongest and most consistent album so far." Uncut
s Andrew Mueller
believed that the album "contains little trace of the discordant outings or rather rigidly utilitarian dance grooves they seemed to feel obliged to deploy on previous albums. This is an album that sees Hot Chip freeing themselves of the surly bonds of their more orthodox dance and electronic influences and settling comfortably into the orbit of New Order
and Pet Shop Boys
."
The A.V. Club
reviewer Michaelangelo Matos opined that "while One Life Stands mindset is Hot Chip's most overtly serious, the album is also its most musically accomplished. The melodies are Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard's longest-lined, and the melodies often unfurl beautifully." Ian Mathers from PopMatters
viewed it as "Hot Chip's most kinetic album" and stated that "One Life Stand may be less pleasingly idiosyncratic than Hot Chip's previous work, but it pays off in their most consistently winning set of songs to date. It's still not quite as raucous as their incredible live show, [...] but those who felt that Made in the Dark never built up enough momentum ought to find this one's straightforward drive more satisfying." Scott Plagenhoef from Pitchfork Media
named One Life Stand the band's "most consistent and most complete record", but remarked that "it's missing an A-list single on par with 'Boy From School
', 'Over and Over
', or 'Ready for the Floor
'. It's also missing dance songs in the mode of the latter two, focusing instead on Hot Chip at their most lush and romantic." Drowned in Sound
's Hayden Woolley wrote that the album "sees their familiar pick'n'mix genre-shopping combined with unprecedented levels of Mills & Boon
sentimentality. It's a heady cocktail, but when mixed in the right proportions the results are stunning." In a review for the NME
, Jamie Fullerton concluded that the album "does have some of the best songs of the year on it. But, again, waiting for Hot Chip to make that classic album is a bit like waiting for an alcoholic parent to arrive at your birthday party. There's a kind of unconditional love that'll keep you hoping every time one comes around, but there may be a point where you have to accept that it's just never going to happen." Chris Beanland of BBC Music
felt that "[t]his is an imbalanced record, and one that leaves you frustrated rather than elated. But despite the blips, they have dished up at least two cerebral bangers here." Andy Gill of The Independent
characterised it as "an album full of earnest endeavour, but lacking verve and creative zest."
Pitchfork Media
placed it at number 24 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".
", had not been "officially serviced" but was given to some "key tastemakers", reaching number five at KCRW
, a Los Angeles
public radio station. He said, "This is also the first time we're taking the band wider at radio, not just to college and speciality stations, but to commercial alternative".
To promote One Life Stand, Hot Chip toured a variety of places, including the UK in February 2010 as well as Europe with ten dates in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in March 2010 and embarked on a US tour with The xx
for six dates at large venues as of 19 April 2010. Rehearsals were set to begin in January 2010 with Goddard stating, "I can't really remember how to play any of the new songs at this point".
As well as touring, Hot Chip promoted the album by performing their then-current single "I Feel Better" on Later... with Jools Holland on 13 April 2010, as well as previous single "One Life Stand".
in 2008. The album will also be released on 12" vinyl in two editions; a standard album and a special edition gatefold
12" vinyl designed by Wallzo. The special edition vinyl release has been limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies worldwide and consists of two 200g records, pressed on the EMI 1400 in Hayes, Hillingdon
. It is to be released by The Vinyl Factory and will contain a number of special features such as an exclusive art print. It has been said that the format is set to become "an instant collectors item".
iTunes bonus tracks
Japanese bonus tracks
Deluxe edition bonus DVD
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by English electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
band Hot Chip
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. They have released four studio albums—Coming on Strong, The Warning, Made in the Dark and One Life Stand.-Formation:...
, released digitally on 1 February 2010. The physical album was released in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2010 by Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
and in the United States the following week on 9 February 2010 by Astralwerks
Astralwerks
Astralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....
. The first single from the album, "One Life Stand
One Life Stand (song)
"One Life Stand" is a single by Hot Chip from their 2010 album of the same name. It was released digitally through the iTunes Store on 30 November 2009. The physical release date was 1 February 2010...
", was released digitally on 30 November 2009 through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Vocalist Alexis Taylor
Alexis Taylor
Alexis Taylor may refer to:* American adult model Shannan Leigh * Alexis Taylor, member of the British electro-pop band Hot Chip...
described the album as "the most warm and soulful sounding record we've made" and expressed hope that people would also say it was "a soulful quality that ties [the album] together".
Production
One Life Stand was not recorded in the manner that previous albums were. Taylor stated that the album was not "made in short bursts" but was "made with time". The first song created was "Alley Cats", which was written near the end of the band's 2008 tour, the only song to be written and performed whilst on tour. From performing it live, the band formulated a structure for the song that they felt would work and added a number of new features, such as new melodics, new hooks and a new bass line.The band partly returned to the creative process used in the creation of The Warning
The Warning (Hot Chip album)
The Warning is the second full-length release from the British electronic indie pop band Hot Chip. The album was released in the UK on 22 May 2006 by EMI and in the United States on 3 June 2006 by Astralwerks...
in that some parts of songs were written and recorded in Goddard's bedroom, with Taylor also writing from his house and recording in the room he designated as a "music room". These parts were then built upon in a studio where the band had more space, enabling them to "expand on things". Goddard used Cubase to record at his house whilst Logic Pro
Logic Pro
Logic Pro is a hybrid 32 / 64 bit digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought Emagic in 2002...
was used in the studio as well as GarageBand
GarageBand
GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...
to create parts of songs. Of the latter Taylor said, "that's what I use for recording, and that's like half of the record is going through that program". In regards to the creation of the music, Taylor stated that everyone had involvement in aspects of all of the tracks. Taylor stated that the group felt as though they had exhausted their home studio sound and the possibilities of the instruments they could use at home. Despite this, Taylor explained that he and Joe have a similar work aesthetic and that ideas would "come [...] any time of the day or night"; working on material at home would enable them to "record at home whenever ideas come". However Taylor stated, "even the studio we worked in, it's not like a professional studio that is like, top of the range. It's just a big basement with a desk and various synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and a drum kit."
Goddard said that although the album came together easily, the band had difficulty creating "Hand Me Down Your Love" because "it was just a matter of months and months of adding synthesizers, [and] adding drum parts", which resulted in "something like 160 tracks or pieces of music". As well as this, the band needed to edit out sections that they felt were unnecessary. Goddard discussed the element of time and stated that because the band had more time to create the album, they "tried things out differently" which was ultimately "a little bit unhelpful" due to the number of recorded parts that were never used. Goddard said the band wanted to move away from synths and minimised their presence by making them more subtle. Although the band wanted the album to be a pop record and present "a unified front", Al Doyle stated that the band did not want to lose the "experimental element that [they] had before". To achieve this the band used a broader range of instruments, including a flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
and steelpan
Steelpan
Steelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
s in combination with synths and drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, as well as a guitar, a drum kit and a piano. Doyle said it was "quite exciting for [the band] to work with that palette of instruments". Whilst the band wanted to create an album that was more cohesive, Taylor said that they did not "try to make it all sound like [the songs are] from the same record". The cohesiveness and unity of the album was a by-product of the way the band spent their time crafting it:
When the album was completed and handed over to the label, their response was positive: "Cool, we really like it".
Songwriting
Unlike Made in the DarkMade in the Dark
Made in the Dark is the third studio album from British electronic indie pop band Hot Chip. The album, of 13 songs, was released on 4 February 2008 on the EMI label. It peaked at number four on the UK Album Chart, number 25 on the Australian album charts, and entered at number 109 on the U.S....
, the song writing approach to One Life Stand was less of a collaborative effort. Only three or four songs were written as a group whilst the rest were written by Goddard and Taylor, though Doyle said "we did have input in the way it was produced". Doyle described the writing process for the album as "a bit like writing a poem" because there was "a certain structure" that the band needed to work to whilst exercising "as much freedom" as they could. Goddard described the band's approach to song-writing as a "mix of things [with] a lot of very careful thinking about rhythms, and interlaying a lot of different ideas and influences" though, at certain points, there would be the sense that something needed to occur and these elements in songs were created spontaneously from the interaction between himself and Taylor: "this melody will somehow suddenly explode in your mind. It's never planned, it just seems to happen; almost like it has to." "Hand Me Down Your Love" and "Slush" were written by Taylor whilst Goddard wrote "Brothers". Doyle stated that "One Life Stand" and "I Feel Better
I Feel Better (Hot Chip song)
"I Feel Better" is the second single released by Hot Chip from their fourth album, One Life Stand. It was released on 19 April 2010. The song was later remixed with Will Oldham.-Music video:...
" were put together "in a slightly more piecemeal way".
The album was penned in the summer, with Doyle stating that the band were trying to make an "upbeat, optimistic, summertime record". Goddard said that in previous work, the band were "nervous about being open or emotionally honest" and would sometimes "have a jokiness or guarded sense to some of the words" whereas the new album is more open lyrically. In response to a description of the album as the band's most serious yet, Taylor said, "there was no decision to be more or less comic. I don't feel more or less humorous in my day-to-day" but stated that he could hear melancholy, of which he said was in "almost everything" he writes. He explained that he did not know why this was the case and said, "I can't ever write a song that just sounds completely saccharin. Even if I'm singing about someone being my complete love life, I'm singing about my own inabilities to be as bright as that person." Like Taylor, Doyle said he felt that there was "a certain vein of disquiet and melancholy that runs through the record". Another emotion that the band felt was present in One Life Stand was love. Goddard stated that the band did not set out to write an album about love but due to them feeling "quite settled and happy", he admitted that it had come through in their song writing. In particular, Taylor wrote some of the songs whilst holding his newborn daughter. Taylor felt that due to their growth as song writers and producers the band had progressed over time, resulting in improved "clarity, melodic simplicity and strength" in their song writing.
Album title
The name of the album was chosen because the band could not agree upon any other names. Taylor described the album title as being "a very dumb pun in a way" and felt it was "quite an ugly sounding phrase" but despite this, he felt the sentiment behind made it "quite a nice thing to say" because, as in the title song, it refers to "turning a one night stand into someone's whole life". Taylor stated that he liked "that kind of way of expressing love towards someone" and the idea of using a "simple but quite clumsy turn on [the] cliché" to do so.Taylor discussed the idea of applying the album title as a metaphor for how it could be read. He felt the title suggested longevity and stated that although it was not the band's intention to create an album "that'll be around for a long time", there was a "kind of [an] underlying guide to make songs worthwhile for a long time, and not just temporary".
Artwork
Darren Wall (Wallzo), who previously designed the artwork for The Warning and Made in the Dark, was responsible for the album artwork for One Life Stand. As with previous Hot Chip album designs, Wall worked closely with Owen Clarke on the initial idea to reach "a core aesthetic" to experiment with. Wall expressed that over time the taste and influences of the band and himself "are always a little bit different", which results in differing artwork. However, Wall stated that he and Clarke have "hugely overlapping tastes" and tend to "gravitate towards 'mysterious objects' that invite interpretation" such as the blocks featured on the cover of The Warning and "The Artifact" used for Made in the Dark. The design the duo settled on was of a suspended marble head, which was inspired by photographs of statues being lowered into place using coloured canvas slings. Wall felt this created an interesting theme due to the idea of a classical form being "intersected with bright stripes of colour" and the idea appealed to the band. Wall described the image and being "essentially quite an over-the-top image" and stated that there was "plenty of Giorgio de ChiricoGiorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico was a pre-Surrealist and then Surrealist Italian painter born in Volos, Greece, to a Genovese mother and a Sicilian father. He founded the scuola metafisica art movement...
and Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
reference" in the image.
Musical style
In an interview with Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, Taylor said, "I feel like the melodies on the new album are much more in-your-face, and it's more coherent." Compared with Made in the Dark, where Taylor stated he was interested in embracing the idea of "a messy double album" where each song sounds different sonically, Taylor said One Life Stand "hangs together better and doesn't feel the need to be lots of different things stylistically". Goddard stated that he felt Made in the Dark "was trying to be more futuristic, more crazy, 21st century, synthy and weird" whereas One Life Stand goes "back to basics". Taylor described the album as being "a less cluttered, less busy sounding record than ever before".
Taylor felt that the backing vocals of the song "Slush" sounded like a vocal exercise, using "the same cadence as many very famous melodies" and likened it to "Crazy
Crazy (Willie Nelson song)
"Crazy" is a ballad composed by Willie Nelson. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably by Patsy Cline, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1962....
" by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
. Taylor liked the simplicity of "Slush" and stated that "one of the most special things about the album" for him was that Charles Hayward
Charles Hayward (musician)
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
, drummer of This Heat
This Heat
This Heat were a British experimental music group formed in early 1976 in Camberwell, London by multi-instrumentalists Charles Bullen , Charles Hayward and Gareth Williams .This Heat were active in the ascendancy of British progressive rock and punk rock, but stood apart...
, plays and sings in it.
Influences
The album was influenced by a variety of different people. Taylor stated that "I Feel Better" was based on Joe Goddard "listening to Susan BoyleSusan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ...
on TV and [he] thought of [the] string melody [...] by kind of misremembering [the] Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
song". Following this, Taylor wrote the chorus, which he described as sounding like "La Isla Bonita
La Isla Bonita
"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987, by Sire Records. Originally written as a lament, the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna accepted it...
" by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. This was not the only song to be influenced by Boyle; "Keep Quiet" was written by Goddard immediately after seeing Boyle perform "I Dreamed a Dream
I Dreamed a Dream
"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the musical Les Misérables. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron...
" on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
The 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent was the third series of the programme. It began airing on ITV on 11 April. The 2009 panel of judges consisted of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan...
. Goddard said he "found it quite incredible" and listening to it made him want to write a song, which he sent to Taylor, who wrote the words and sent it back." Taylor stated that though the song "Alley Cats" was influenced by the song "That's Us/Wild Combination" by Arthur Russell
Arthur Russell
Arthur Russell may refer to:* Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill , Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India* Arthur Russell , British athlete...
, which he and Goddard both like, the sound of the finished version was "something a bit more Fleetwood Mac-y". Taylor said that a new bass line, which gave the song a different feel, was responsible for the transformation. Taylor said "We Have Love" had a similar feel to Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's "I Feel Love" "in terms of the euphoria of the chorus", which he described as being "reminiscent of that".
Lyrics
Unlike the previous albums where the band felt their lyrics were obtuse they wanted to be direct with the song meaning and based the song's lyrics on love and their relationships. Taylor described "Alley Cats" as one of Goddard's more private songs and speculated that the song seemed "to partly be about his mother and wishing that she was alive to hear this song that he's singing". Taylor stated that the words of the chorus "relate to when you're feeling something that you really love is coming to an end, and saying that's not really possible". The song "I Feel Better" was described by Taylor as a song "trying to reach a kind of positive conclusion and positive state of mind whilst also trying to think about the terrible state the world is in". Doyle explained that the lyrics were about "the malaise of living in a world where there's climate change and finding solace in the arms of your partner".Collaborators
Fimber Bravo and Charles Hayward were asked to collaborate on the album and Taylor said they immediately created unexpected material. Taylor described Hayward as "very capable of coming up with his own stuff" and stated that he was responsible for the drumming in the background of the final chorus of "Hand Me Down Your Love", which Taylor labelled as "explosive". He stated that it was not something the band would have thought to do and that it worked "tremendously well". The recordings Hayward did only lasted for a few hours and Taylor stated, "we were kind of just left to our own devices to see if we could make use of it". Bravo wanted to use the steel pans, featured in the title track "One Life Stand", "in a way that [they are] not really known for".Critical reception
One Life Stand was met with positive reviews by music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 79, based on 34 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s Gareth Grundy wrote that the album "not only sees [the band] back on track, it's also their best work, paring down those past excesses and unifying them into an extraordinarily lovely whole." Huw Jones of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
described it as "a smooth, sleek, and splendid pop record" where "[e]ach individual track sticks to its own tone and theme, while the group gracefully sashays through several shifts in tone and tempo." Heather Phares of Allmusic noted that "their sensitive side dominates One Life Stand—they don't sound ready for the floor, they sound ready to settle down. Even the most energetic songs feel tempered compared to the neon energy of Made in the Dark and The Warnings hits." She added that "[t]hough this emotional nakedness is an unusual move after Made in the Dark pushed Hot Chip to a new level of attention and acclaim, it also shows they're in it for the long haul." Nick Annan from Clash
Clash (magazine)
Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....
deemed it "different to Made In The Dark but a more cohesive and more heartfelt effort too. One Life Stand sees Hot Chip let us into their hearts as well as their thoughts." Benjamin Boles, writing for Canadian magazine Now
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
, commented that "[i]t's not that they've completely reinvented their sound as much as they've simply focused and polished it up. The real shift is in their attitude, which allows them to embrace earnestness and write some straightforward love songs. It's a strategy that could have backfired, but instead it has inspired their strongest and most consistent album so far." Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
s Andrew Mueller
Andrew Mueller
Andrew Mueller is an Australian-born, London-based journalist and author. He is a contributing editor at Monocle, and also regularly writes for The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Financial Times, Esquire, The Guardian, Arena, The Times, Uncut, High Life, Harper's Bazaar, New Humanist,...
believed that the album "contains little trace of the discordant outings or rather rigidly utilitarian dance grooves they seemed to feel obliged to deploy on previous albums. This is an album that sees Hot Chip freeing themselves of the surly bonds of their more orthodox dance and electronic influences and settling comfortably into the orbit of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
."
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
reviewer Michaelangelo Matos opined that "while One Life Stands mindset is Hot Chip's most overtly serious, the album is also its most musically accomplished. The melodies are Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard's longest-lined, and the melodies often unfurl beautifully." Ian Mathers from PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
viewed it as "Hot Chip's most kinetic album" and stated that "One Life Stand may be less pleasingly idiosyncratic than Hot Chip's previous work, but it pays off in their most consistently winning set of songs to date. It's still not quite as raucous as their incredible live show, [...] but those who felt that Made in the Dark never built up enough momentum ought to find this one's straightforward drive more satisfying." Scott Plagenhoef from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
named One Life Stand the band's "most consistent and most complete record", but remarked that "it's missing an A-list single on par with 'Boy From School
Boy From School
"Boy from School" is a single by Hot Chip, released on 27 June 2006, from Hot Chip's second album, The Warning. The original title of the song was "And I Was a Boy from School", however, this was shortened on the request of EMI...
', 'Over and Over
Over and Over (Hot Chip song)
"Over and Over" was the first single from Hot Chip's second album The Warning. It was released twice in the UK in 2006 - first reaching number 32 in March and number 27 in October.-Music video:...
', or 'Ready for the Floor
Ready for the Floor
"Ready for the Floor" is the Grammy Award-nominated second single by the British Electronic group Hot Chip from their 2008 album Made in the Dark...
'. It's also missing dance songs in the mode of the latter two, focusing instead on Hot Chip at their most lush and romantic." Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
's Hayden Woolley wrote that the album "sees their familiar pick'n'mix genre-shopping combined with unprecedented levels of Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...
sentimentality. It's a heady cocktail, but when mixed in the right proportions the results are stunning." In a review for the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, Jamie Fullerton concluded that the album "does have some of the best songs of the year on it. But, again, waiting for Hot Chip to make that classic album is a bit like waiting for an alcoholic parent to arrive at your birthday party. There's a kind of unconditional love that'll keep you hoping every time one comes around, but there may be a point where you have to accept that it's just never going to happen." Chris Beanland of BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
felt that "[t]his is an imbalanced record, and one that leaves you frustrated rather than elated. But despite the blips, they have dished up at least two cerebral bangers here." Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
characterised it as "an album full of earnest endeavour, but lacking verve and creative zest."
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
placed it at number 24 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".
Promotion
General manager of marketing for Astralwerks, Glenn Mendlinger, stated that the first single of the album, "One Life StandOne Life Stand (song)
"One Life Stand" is a single by Hot Chip from their 2010 album of the same name. It was released digitally through the iTunes Store on 30 November 2009. The physical release date was 1 February 2010...
", had not been "officially serviced" but was given to some "key tastemakers", reaching number five at KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
, a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
public radio station. He said, "This is also the first time we're taking the band wider at radio, not just to college and speciality stations, but to commercial alternative".
To promote One Life Stand, Hot Chip toured a variety of places, including the UK in February 2010 as well as Europe with ten dates in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in March 2010 and embarked on a US tour with The xx
The xx
The xx are an English indie pop band, formed in London in 2005. The band's members met while studying at Elliott School, the same school that produced Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. They became a trio when their second guitarist and keyboardist, Baria Qureshi, departed in late 2009. In September...
for six dates at large venues as of 19 April 2010. Rehearsals were set to begin in January 2010 with Goddard stating, "I can't really remember how to play any of the new songs at this point".
As well as touring, Hot Chip promoted the album by performing their then-current single "I Feel Better" on Later... with Jools Holland on 13 April 2010, as well as previous single "One Life Stand".
Formats
The album will be released on two CD formats; a standard album, which contains ten tracks, and a deluxe edition, which includes the album and, in addition, a bonus DVD with a "making of" documentary and three live tracks recorded in BrixtonBrixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
in 2008. The album will also be released on 12" vinyl in two editions; a standard album and a special edition gatefold
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
12" vinyl designed by Wallzo. The special edition vinyl release has been limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies worldwide and consists of two 200g records, pressed on the EMI 1400 in Hayes, Hillingdon
Hayes, Hillingdon
Hayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
. It is to be released by The Vinyl Factory and will contain a number of special features such as an exclusive art print. It has been said that the format is set to become "an instant collectors item".
Track listing
All songs written by Hot Chip.- "Thieves in the Night" – 6:09
- "Hand Me Down Your Love" – 4:33
- "I Feel BetterI Feel Better (Hot Chip song)"I Feel Better" is the second single released by Hot Chip from their fourth album, One Life Stand. It was released on 19 April 2010. The song was later remixed with Will Oldham.-Music video:...
" – 4:41 - "One Life StandOne Life Stand (song)"One Life Stand" is a single by Hot Chip from their 2010 album of the same name. It was released digitally through the iTunes Store on 30 November 2009. The physical release date was 1 February 2010...
" – 5:23 - "Brothers" – 4:21
- "Slush" – 6:29
- "Alley Cats" – 5:21
- "We Have Love" – 4:28
- "Keep Quiet" – 4:02
- "Take It In" – 4:10
iTunes bonus tracks
- One Life Stand (Track by Track Interview) – 9:52
- "One Life Stand" (Carl CraigCarl CraigCarl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
Remix) – 10:20 (US and Canada only)
Japanese bonus tracks
- "Bubbles" – 5:15
- "Build a House" – 4:12
Deluxe edition bonus DVD
- "Brothers" (Short Film)
- "One Pure Thought" (Live in Brixton 2008)
- "Alley Cats" (Live in Brixton 2008)
- "No Fit State" (Live in Brixton 2008)
Personnel
- Hot Chip – performers, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
(all tracks); mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
(tracks 6, 7, 9) - Fimber Bravo – steelpanSteelpanSteelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
(tracks 1, 3, 4, 6) - Dan CareyDan Carey (music)Daniel De Mussenden Carey is a London-based producer, writer, mixer and remixer whose credits include work with CSS, M.I.A., Hot Chip, Athlete, Emilíana Torrini, Sia , Alice Gold, Kylie, Franz Ferdinand, Santigold, The Kills, Róisín Murphy, Mr Hudson, Lily Allen, Brazilian Girls, The Long Blondes,...
– mixing (tracks 1–5, 8, 10) - Owen Clarke – designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
- Geese – stringsStrings (music)A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
, string arrangementsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, string engineer (track 2) - Charles HaywardCharles Hayward (musician)Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock group This Heat. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Radar Favourites, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with old schoolfriend and "Pooh and the Ostrich Feather" member Phil Manzanera in the...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 2, 6); chorus vocal (track 6) - Tom Hopkins – engineer (tracks 1–8, 10)
- Mike Marsh – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Alexis Smith – mixing assistant (tracks 1–5, 8, 10)
- Leo Taylor – drums (tracks 1, 4)
- Wallzo – design
Peak positions
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
27 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
48 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
70 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
28 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
115 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
54 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
28 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
17 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
41 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
40 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
11 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
103 |
| US Dance/Electronic Albums | 5 |
| US Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
1 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Silver |
Release history
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 28 January 2010 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| Australia | 29 January 2010 | |
| Germany | ||
| Ireland | Parlophone Parlophone Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which... |
|
| United Kingdom | 1 February 2010 | |
| France | EMI | |
| Canada | 2 February 2010 | |
| Japan | 3 February 2010 | |
| Sweden | ||
| United States | 9 February 2010 | Astralwerks Astralwerks Astralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States.... |
| Italy | 12 February 2010 | EMI |