Freakout/Release is another dizzying high in a multi-decade career that's seen Hot Chip continuing to innovate and develop a rich, resonant songcraft. And while they continue to operate at peak form, the album also feels like a new chapter for the group—a collection of flesh-and-blood songs that finds the band reaching into the darkness to emerge as a true creative unit, their gazes fixed positively on the future ahead.
Freakout/Release was written and recorded in the band's newly minted Relax & Enjoy studio in East London, helping them establish the album's lively, full-band sound. Harnessing Hot Chip's irreplicable live energy in a studio space was in the front of the band's mind, as they found themselves particularly inspired by their cover of Beastie Boys' “Sabotage” that's become a setlist staple. The five piece – comprised of Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, Joe Goddard, Felix Martin (not pictured) and Alexis Taylor – also share the first cut from the record, the album's vibrant and expansive opening track “Down”.