Why Make Sense?

Though they’ve always boasted a winning sense of humour, Hot Chip are nothing if not sincere. The British outfit’s beautifully rendered sixth full-length—Why Make Sense?—is alive with the sort of emotional brilliance and meditative songwriting that has made them one of modern pop’s most rewarding listens. While the house-driven single “Need You Now” makes expert use of a 1983 Sinnamon sample to make its impassioned central plea, the sumptuous slow jam “White Wine and Fried Chicken” finds frontman Alexis Taylor giving thanks—for a meal and “a new place to stay/where my heart has permission, to sing all the day.”