Hot Chip - O L S (2010)

The best song on this U.K. electro-pop group's 2008 disc Made in the Dark was an ode to disco abandon called "Ready for the Floor." The best one here is a marriage proposal called "One Life Stand." Hot Chip's excellent fourth record shows how compatible those sentiments can be. Frontman Alexis Taylor, a new dad, hungers for commitment and ponders the big picture over sweeping songs that set searching Yaz-like synth melodies to elegiac house throb. The Chipsters lace their songs with references to Tammy Wynette and Willie Nelson; they're old-school suckers for love, and they always give their heart-hopeful anthems just the right undercurrent of ache.