Singles

Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming

Sel Bulut 31/03/2008

Rating: 4/5

Opening with tribal beats and evolving into a structureless but nonetheless utterly addictive electronic romp, The Bears Are Coming is an odd but interesting single. This single release is not actually re-recorded from the demo - the original bedroom recording has simply had extra layers of production and a new vocal line put on top of it (aided by uber-hip producer Erol Alkan) to create a fresh but faithful version that perfectly strikes the balance of satisfying fans of the original and winning over new lovers.

For all intents and purposes this song should not work - it bypasses conventional, well-established verse-chorus-verse structures that have been just fine up until now in favour of meandering along aimlessly and just getting more and more mental and confrontational as it progresses. It should be a messy wreck doomed to an eternity of myspace obscurity. Yet inexplicably it not only succeeds, it goes on to climb to the top of the podium and pushes Hot Chip face first into the mud and laughs in the face of their reassuringly radio-friendly brand of electro.

The complete lack of minimalism is what makes this release so compelling, with aggressive beats, bass and synth all clashing to make an ultimately fantastic end product. It may not sound good in writing but it definitely is in practice.