Album Review: Harvest Festival by Joe Goddard

Coming on Strong, the debut album by Hot Chip, feels very far away. In the span of five years, the British five-piece have grown in interesting ways, becoming arguably the premier electronic pop act of the decade. In that time, Alexis Taylor emerged as the wounded soul of the group, and was subsequently at the center of their best moments-- the gentle cooing of "And I Was a Boy From School", the narcoleptic drone of "Over and Over", and the brave glee of "Ready for the Floor".

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As a principle force behind Hot Chip, it’s safe to assume Joe Goddard knows his way around the dance floor. He is the founding member of Greco-Roman, a community of musicians, artists and DJs on the international clubbing circuit known for throwing parties in warehouses, restaurants, railway arches, boats and anywhere else they can soundtrack debauchery whilst keeping a step ahead of the police. According to the collective’s MySpace site, the rules for Greco-Roman partying are 'no sponsors, no guest list, no music policy, no listings, no photographers,' and presumably beyond that, anything goes.

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Philosophically, you would struggle to justify this record’s existence. Containing zero surprises, the [a]Hot Chip[/a] man’s solo debut is a synthetic sun shower of analogue electronics that, in light of Alexis Taylor’s ‘Rubbed Out’, merely confirms what you already know. Namely, that Hot Chip’s creative dynamic relies on Taylor bringing the folk, rock and soul songcraft, and Goddard the bleeps.

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