The Warning

{{Infobox album
(2004)
(2006)
(2008)

**The Warning** is Hot Chips second album released in 2006. This album changed Hot Chip's music genre and saw a big up step in the songs.

## Track Listings

* Careful
* Boy From School
* Colours
* Over and Over
* (Just Like We) Breakdown
* Tchaparian
* Look After Me
* **The Warning**
* Arrest Yourself
* So Glad To See You
* No Fit State
* Won't Wash (hidden track; not noted on album)

## Trivia

* The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

## Production

The production of The Warning was handled by vocalists Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, who produced and recorded the album in the band's Putney home. NME commented that the "normality of [their] surroundings" works well for them. Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy of DFA Records were involved in the production of one song. Though the song "worked out well as a record", Taylor stated it wasn't "an enjoyable experience in terms of feeling involved". Taylor said that he and Goddard work best as a duo, the success of which he attributes to the years they have been acquainted.

An idea involving all five members joining together to write songs was rejected because Taylor "didn't think it would come up with anything interesting." Although the album isn't one of all five members, Taylor and Goddard approached the album with "the spirit of the live shows".

In an interview with Jim Carroll from The Irish Times, Taylor stated that Hot Chip had two different strands; one consisting of Taylor and Goddard who control the recording process, and a second involving all five members of Hot Chip for playing live versions of their albums. Taylor said he believed two groups were needed to avoid delivering repetitive performances; "You can do very different things in a room playing to people than when you're in a room layering sounds and getting embedded in production trickery".

The recording of the album took place in Goddard's bedroom, where Goddard had "an old Dell desktop that [he] bought maybe four or five years ago" running Steinberg Cubase. The album was recorded mostly using live instruments, including tambourines and bongos, but multiple vintage synths were also used in the creation of The Warning such as, a Roland SH-101, a Teisco 60F and a Casiotone MT-70. Goddard said the majority of the album was recorded with the Casiotone MT-70 due to its "soft, simple sound" that "fits with the sound that [they] try to create" and works well with Taylor's voice. Goddard stated a preference for using a mix of analog and computer sounds rather than a concentration of Virtual Studio Technology (VST) instruments. However, one VST instrument was used, the Arturia Moog Modular, because Goddard felt it created vintage sounds that weren't "too shiny or new-sounding".

## Reception

According to Nielsen SoundScan data reported by Billboard, The Warning sold 49,000 copies in the United States and peaked on the UK Album Chart at number 34 and number 13 on Billboard Top Electronic Albums.

"Boy from School" was the first single released from The Warning, peaking at position number 40 on the UK chart. The second single released, "Over and Over", entered the UK chart twice, beginning with the 27 February 2006 release that reached position number 32. It re-entered the UK chart on 9 October 2006, peaking at position number 27 in the UK Singles Top 75, and reached position number 44 in the Ireland Singles Top 50.

## Promotion

Hot Chip embarked upon a tour of America in March 2006 to promote The Warning. Felix Martin wasn't able to participate due to severe illness, so fellow band members "had to figure out how to do his parts whilst [doing their] own" and enlisted the help of LCD Soundsystem drummer, Pat Mahoney.