Alexis Taylor

Hot Chip frontman Alexis Taylor originally presented these recordings on Treader in 2008- his debut solo recording. Finally available on LP, this set of intimately recorded, bespoke songs and instrumentals is dedicated to his partner, Keri Darn. Charming and Disarming.The very latest release on the beautifully presented Treader label comes Hot Chip frontman/vocalist and possible Gerry Anderson marionette Alexis Taylor, who threads together a series of instrumentals and pop songs with a little help from Garageband. There are some beautiful synth outings here: from opener 'Fireworks' straight into the creamy, organ-driven 'Plastic Man' which sounds uncannily like the intro to The Killers' 'All These Things That I Have Done' mixed in with a bit of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. Good work. Straight after comes a Paul McCartney cover - 'Coming Up' suits Taylor's voice down to the ground, sounding like its been captured very much in the same sort of spirit as the original, with a lulling double-tracked vocal. Departing markedly from the synth pop impetus that drives Hot Chip, tracks like 'Baby' take on a more guitar-centric tone, rocking in an unstable, ramshackle sort of fashion. This shambling, yet heartfelt lo-fi persona fits Taylor very well, and further oddities like 'Collector's Item' arise from the same sort of setup. There's still a decent enough helping of electronics to hand though, and 'I'm Not A Robber' serves as a good example of Taylor's pared down, organ-toting electro-funk. As if that weren't enough there's even a bit of drone work in here too ('Musical Food'). Lovely.