A Want Is A Lack But Also Desire

Hot Chip “Thieves In The Night”

I’m not sure if there are many pop songs that I would describe as rational, generous, and thrilling in equal measures, but that’s pretty much what is going on in “Thieves In The Night”, on on Hot Chip’s new album in general. They’ve always toyed with presenting warm emotions with a chilly affect, and though that sometimes results in merely lukewarm results, their gems have a wonderful balance and tension to them that is more nuanced and human than flat and robotic. “Thieves In The Night” is one of the band’s finest compositions to date, a steadily building opener that has the bright tonality and calculated precision of Kraftwerk, but the warm soul of a polite gentleman. It’s basically a song about the blurry line separating needs and wants, and the difficulty of going through life without finding satisfaction, or knowing what path may lead to real happiness. There’s nothing smug or condescending about the sentiment. Joe Goddard sings “happiness is what we all want / may it be that we don’t always want” on the chorus, and he couldn’t sound more genuine in wanting the best for us all. Coming back to that chorus after a surprisingly excellent guitar solo, the song seems to glow in pulsing waves, like some kind of beacon of hope and goodwill. It keeps moving forwards, as if to sweep the listener up and carry them along to some better, happier point in the future.

Buy it from Amazon.