Feeling down? Weary? Out of sorts? Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard has got you covered on Harmonics, the London producer’s third solo album and a record so relentlessly empathetic it can feel like getting smothered by a pack of golden retrievers.
Goddard has history here. Hot Chip, the group he co-founded with Alexis Taylor, are known for their arm-around-the-shoulder melodies, while his project the 2 Bears, with Raf Rundell, once released the charming “Bear Hug,” a song that literally promised to take you in its arms. Goddard’s 2011 single “Gabriel,” meanwhile, is such a beautifully rendered, deeply felt pop-house song that it almost managed to escape from the charred emotional void at the core of VULTURES 1’ “Beg Forgiveness,” where Ye flipped its chorus into a defense of Chris Brown, of all people.
But Harmonics really is a festival of warmth, from its cordial name down. Goddard designed the record, he says, to be “loving, romantic – and fun,” and this approach extended into Harmonics’ production; Goddard tried not to force meaning onto the music or his collaborators. Certainly, it all sounds very welcoming: The beats largely bounce along at an inclusive 125-ish BPM as the music takes a soothing stroll through the dance styles that have long dominated Goddard’s work, namely house, garage (both UK and U.S.), funk, and soul. The synths shine persistently bright and a stream of guest vocalists pour their hearts out on songs that are heavy on tales of romantic intrigue.
Still, Harmonics isn’t really a happy album—more a wistful one, with a deep strain of “chin up mate” encouragement. Goddard’s melodies tend toward the doleful, and an understated melancholy runs through Harmonics like late-summer nostalgia. Sure, there is romance, but we are far from the happily ever after. “Why do we love then in this world/Why must we try again, hurt ourselves,” Goddard ponders on “Follow You,” a vaguely gothic rock-soul number. The album’s guests don’t sound in much better humor: “Deep inside I know just what to do/But how do I find healing in the song?” Milan-based singer-songwriter Fiorious croons on the gospel house of “New World (Flow)”.
This melancholy dance format produces some beautiful moments. “On My Mind” is the kind of ruminative 2-step that Jamie xx wishes he could achieve, while “Summon,” with former Wild Beast Hayden Thorpe, is a Larry Heard-esque fantasy of deep-house beats and disco introspection. At times, though, the relentless march of default mode boom-tish house and bittersweet synth melodies gets a little stifling—less comforting than simply comfort zone.
What’s frustrating is that there is a more adventurous album trying to escape from beneath Harmonics’ house-y shroud, one where Goddard’s more intrepid collaborators really take the lead. “Miles Away,” with Guinean vocalist Falle Nioke, and “Progress,” with Ibibio Sound Machine, both touch on Afro-house; “When Love’s Out of Fashion,” with British rapper Oranje, detours into hip-hop; and “Revery,” with Alabaster DePlume, has a touch of Underground Resistance-style space jazz to its saxophone groove.
That these are among the best songs on the record is no coincidence. Goddard’s compassionate attitude is a welcome antidote to our divided world, and it does often bear fruit. But little truly great art is made by committee. Harmonics’ collection of relatable songs and interesting ideas could use a stronger hand on the tiller to reach its intended destination.
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