Hot Chip – Freakout/Release

Their worst album, by some distance. Hugely disappointing after One Life Stand & Why Make Sense are two of my favourite albums ever made. I still have faith they could make a comeback though.

Took a few listens for me to truly love this album on digital but listening to this record there’s so many details i hadn’t picked up on before. Beautiful pressing. Like that it’s in anti-static sleeves and it feels nice and heavy. There’s the odd crackle on side A but i’ll put that down to the fact I bought it second hand. No clicks or pops on B,C,and D though. There is a small amount of background noise but it’s very subtle. Both discs a bit rough cut along the edges and side A has a tiny black streak from when it was pressed that doesn’t affect the sound. Overall it looks and sounds great

my favorite Hot Chip album in a while, i didn't like their last two as much. But I've loved them since 2008 and they have a lot of great songs.

Great sound on this pressing, clean and clear on all 4 sides. My copy has some very minor imperfections that don't affect playback at all: there's a small fleck of what is either a bit of black vinyl or a burn mark. It's right between Not Alone and Hard To Be Funky but doesn't cause a skip, bump, or pop so I don't mind it. There's a gouge/chip in the edge of one of the records, but it doesn't affect the sound so again, not worth getting a replacement to me. The spindle hole on C/D is very tight, so getting the record off the turntable takes some doing but it's workable.

Firstly, the artwork (although it's 'only' the standard black vinyl version) is lovely on this - the gatefold sleeve colour printing even continues inside the gatefold sleeve-holders! I'm used to fantastic sounding Hot Chip albums thanks to their and Domino's apparent commitment to good vinyl. This largely doesn't dissapoint with a really speaker-bouncing, punchy sound, especially on the dancier tracks. However, there is a bit of distortion at the end of 2 or 3 tracks closest to the middle of both discs. I returned my first vinyl (to Amazon) because of this and found the second similar. Having said that, it still sounds more dynamic than most of the new vinyl I own and even has a bonus LP track ;)

I got a bad one :-( Pressing issues on A and B: sudden distortion on long sections of A2 and most songs on B. Chips on the edge of the record too. I think I hear similar on D2 as well. Signed print is great, but I’ve contacted Domino to replace the record.

Is it me or is this pressing a little “hot”? It sounds slightly distorted to me, am I crazy?

The Most Panful Game is absolutely my favorite song on the album. This whole album sounds stunning. Hot Chip just doesn't stop throwing down hits. They have such a stellar catalog.

There is a lot to like here. Very good pressing, as well.

Terrific pressing this and beautifully packaged. Don't judge this album on one listen, like many of the Hot Chip albums, it requires multiple plays to appreciate all the layers. There are some real deep cut gems on this latest album that remain in your head long after the record has stopped spinning. Masterful pop - 8/10