Release Date: Mar 25, 2022
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Merge
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Within the first moments of "Protection from Evil," Hot Chip's Al Doyle delivers a rubbery synthline so badass that it establishes Ibibio Sound Machine's fourth full-length as a bent-circuit exploration though funk, disco and whatever else they want to throw into the mix. But don't get it wrong, the octet aren't out to cop Hot Chip's oeuvre -- it's in fact the opposite, as Doyle and his bandmates are partially indebted to Ibibio Sound Machine for their late-career adventurousness. Fans of each other's music for nearly a decade, Electricity signals the first collaboration between the two electro collectives.
A true force of nature, Ibibio Sound Machine's future-funk explorations often hide the group's pop nous. 'Electricity' - produced by Hot Chip, no less - reverses this, heightening their melodic prowess while retaining their physical thrust. '17 18 19' is a Grace Jones-esque disco groove, 'All That You Want' is a house bubbler, while 'Truth No Lie' is like Pet Shop Boys re-imagined in a West African context.
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