I spent the spring of my freshman year listening to Hot Chip’s The Warning on repeat in central California, surrounded by farmland and livestock. While my location has changed, the farmland and livestock still remain, and it seems befitting that the English based quintet’s newest album, One Life Stand, has been released in time for my final semester in college. Together, Hot Chip and I have greatly matured over the last four years, and while the band’s sound has grown into a new entity, many of its pop techno qualities remain the same.

Led by Alexis Taylor on vocals, this is the fourth album released by the band in the last eight years. Yet, unlike its predecessors, the ten tracks on One Life Stand were written sporadically following the group’s last release, 2008’s Made in the Dark. The title track is reminiscent of the band’s past work, with danceable beats and vocals that enhance the song’s catchy melody.

The group also used this album to experiment with several new sounds, only some of which are successful. Putting aside their heavily used synthesizer allows the band to create a more comprehensive track through highlighting the use of other instruments, specifically violin and piano. The song “Hand Me Down Your Love” is a wonderful example of how the mixture of pop and soul can create a rich and complex dance track.

Hot Chip’s other experiments prove to be less victorious. While some songs, such as “I Feel Better” and “We Have Love,” try too hard to be techno infused club hits (lay off the auto-tune guys!), others tracks are slow. One exception to the failures of the band’s new work is “Alley Cats,” a slower track featuring Joe Goddard that still captures their signature pop sound.

Hot Chip has tried to delve into a new genre of music, but ultimately their endeavors prove ineffective. Their musical triumphs lie in songs that show connections to their older work. Hopefully the band can continue working on organically renovating their musical style, instead of turning away from it in favor of mundane synthetic tracks.