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Apr 21, 2017 Joe Goddard By Lauren Hardy

Joe Goddard cuts the kind of record that disbands physical limitations. Granted the Londoner’s already got a strong track record, with his defining work from Hot Chip and The 2 Bears, but his second solo album is taking those heights and magnifying them, as we are ricocheted between smoky soul, verdant groove, and tantalizing pop-electronica.

“Ordinary Madness” opens the album in tropical luminescence, gathering the sponge and squeezing, our hearts’ drenched. “Lose Your Love” radiates, as Goddard weaves jogging clips and soupy synths through fervent gospel-soaked backing vocals, Goddard heaping, “Don’t want to lose it.”

“Home” is a funk-infused plunge, Goddard’s soulful glow splendidly gaffing the crevices of the beat, pulling us into an incessant and colossal avalanche, culminating in a sample of “We’re On Our Way Home,” by ‘70s funk/disco band Brainstorm, injecting the song with a billowing immediacy.

“Electric Lines” cuts us, synchronized hand claps soft and inviting against beckoning synths, leading us through the corridors of fellow Hot Chip member Alexis Taylor’s felted hue confiding, “Every time I hear something special, its replacement is something I fear.” We are not used to anything being both so electrifying and softhearted.

“Nothing Moves” taps gorgeously through a lucid sonic sky as Goddard brims over, “I can’t sleep/I don’t think I told you/I get scared/And it keeps me up.” This is not what we expect from the dancefloor. And this makes Goddard’s elixir so mesmerizing. He comes at dance music from a very vulnerable angle, affording us his vulnerability. We are compelled to drop our inhibitions, and feel the music move through us.

On Electric Lines, Goddard effectively forgets us of our shoelaces, our sandal straps, our jeans and our tees, our car payments, our bad days, our where-we-have-to-be’s and our have-to-do-this-or-that’s, our fears, doubts, and our insecurities. After only one listen through, we are fleeing to Goddard’s dancefloor. The thought of a clean getaway hadn’t occurred to us before. But here we are, losing ourselves, unencumbered, the possibilities endless (www.facebook.com/joegoddardofficial/)

Author rating: 7.5/10