Why Make Sense? | ||||
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Cover art for digital and streaming editions
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Studio album by Hot Chip | ||||
Released | 18 May 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2014 | |||
Studio | Club Ralph (London, England) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:49 | |||
Label | Domino | |||
Producer |
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Hot Chip chronology | ||||
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Singles from Why Make Sense? | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 81/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Consequence of Sound | B |
Exclaim! | 8/10 |
The Guardian | |
musicOMH | |
NME | 8/10 |
NOW | |
Pitchfork | 7.3/10 |
Q | |
Uncut |
Why Make Sense? is the sixth studio album by English electronic music band Hot Chip. It was released in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2015 via Domino and was co-produced by the band and English record producer Mark Ralph. Similar to their previous album, In Our Heads (2012), it was recorded at Ralph's London studio, Club Ralph. For vinyl and compact disc copies of Why Make Sense?, the album's cover art has 130,000 variations of its design, which comprises a set of parallel lines intersecting with each other (known as a moiré pattern) in front of a coloured background. Three official singles have been released from the album: "Huarache Lights", "Need You Now", and "Started Right".
Band member Al Doyle explained in an interview that they considered releasing a double album, but held back so as not to be "indulgent". Joe Goddard added that most of the album's songs were written in three to four days, explaining that the band "try to work really quickly so we don't work the life and soul out of it."
In a press release for the album, Goddard stated: "When we were recording, we were getting closer and closer to the sound we make on stage. That kind of freedom makes a massive difference to a few of the tracks on the album; to how the tracks grow." He also said that "musically we all had a desire to strip things right down, not overload it with parts. It relates back to the idea of actually being a band – maybe just one guitar part and one live drum part rather than multiple layers added. Musically, it was an effort to bring a real directness to our music, the kind you'd get on old RnB records."
The album's title, cover artwork, and track listing were announced on 10 February 2015, alongside the release of the album's first single "Huarache Lights".
The album's second single, "Need You Now", was released on 1 April 2015 along with a music video that was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on the same day. The song also samples vocals from the song "I Need You Now" by Sinnamon.
The album artwork for the CD and vinyl release uses a novel printing process designed by Nick Relph and Matthew Cooper. The sleeve varies from each individual print to one of 501 different colours. The artwork also includes a series of parallel lines, which are placed at a differing angles on each individual print. Combined, there are over 130,000 variations for the sleeve. The artwork features a moiré pattern that was inspired by the work of Bridget Riley.