- "Gonna give you a bear hug." It's hard to imagine such an invitation coming from two finer, possibly more grizzled gentlemen than Hot Chip's Joe Goddard or the Greco Roman Sound System's Raf Daddy, AKA The 2 Bears. Although it's possible that Yogi could give them a run for their money in terms of wrapping their paws around you, it's unlikely that he could produce a cheekier or catchier house tune than "Bear Hug," this EP's title track.
This is the third release from the duo, and out of the four tunes here the title track is the one which digs its claws furthest into you. A hopelessly catchy robotic verse flexes under a tough house muscle before dissolving into a sun kissed chorus, slathered in the Hot Chip man's familiar croon. "Take a Look Around" is the other vocal belter with Raf Daddy this time intoning positive dancing and dreaming vibes atop a house roller.
Elsewhere "In My Brain Is Like a Computer" and "Banger" demonstrate that these bears can snarl when they want to. The latter is the furrier cub of Paul Woolford's "Erotic Discourse," albeit a sibling birthed in a hut at the bottom of the woods rather than a club, while the former is as equally as bashy and as banging. But it's the pop-hip-house oddness of the title tune which I keep returning to.
Tracklist 01. Take a Look Around
02. In My Brain Is Like a Computer
03. Bear Hug
04. Banger