My recommendations 2006:The Warning by Hot Chip

Hot Chip: The Warning
Astralwerks 6/13/2006

I was worried about Hot Chip's signing to Astralwerks. Frequently, signing to a major label can spell doom for an indie band. Loss of creative control and incompetent representation could have destroyed what was special about Hot Chip: amateurish but deceptively danceable tunes overflowing with narcissism and bravado. I was partially right; Hot Chip did lose their amateurishness. Now, they make well-crafted and forthrightly danceable tunes, still overflowing with narcissism and bravado. There were moments on their debut that were grating simply because they were unaccustomed to using their own equipment. These moments are gone on The Warning. What Hot Chip lost has been replaced by something even better: competence.