As a founding member of Hot Chip, Joe Goddard has long used his platform and resources to promote indie-leaning dance music. He's collaborated with Michael Mayer, produced tracks for Little Boots, remixed Santigold and introduced the world to Disclosure with his Greco-Roman record imprint.
On Harmonics, his third solo LP and first in seven years, Goddard melds his talents into a singular piece of work, collecting twelve tracks built around collaborations with artists from dance music scenes worldwide.
The opening number, "Moments Die," starts off like a classic Hot Chip banger before Barrie takes control of the shimmering single, pushing and pulling on Goddard's gummy beat to create a hazy pop duet. Resetting with the Ibibio Sound Machine collaboration "Progress," Goddard continues the bright and rhythmic sound he helped craft on their 2022 Afro-funk tour de force Electricity. As the album progresses, Goddard expands further on his musical personality.
Tracks like "Destiny," featuring London-based dance artist Findia, showcase pure dance pop with throbbing low-end and single-finger keyboard melodies. Album highlight "New World (Flow)," featuring Netherlands vocalist Fiorious, is a throbbing diva-worthy disco anthem. "When Love's Out of Fashion," with UK rapper Oranje, shows Goddard laying down shimmering beats and samples like a next-generation hip-hop producer.
Mid-album, Goddard takes over the vocals on two tracks; the whispery "Follow You" and the bouncy "On My Mind." By resetting the mood, Goddard's vocals serve as a fulcrum, highlighting how much this LP bravely strays from his comfort zone. Following the wonderfully punky and moody "Summon," featuring former Wild Beasts frontperson Hayden Thorpe's remarkably soulful vocals comes "When You Call," the album's first (and only) throwaway, with Goddard and Findia recycling ideas. Goddard adds lead vocals to one more track, the vocoder ballad "Out at Night," and teams up with Hot Chip bandmates Alexis Taylor and Al Doyle for the crystalline and downbeat "Mountains," gearing up for the album's sweeping finale.
Jungle's Tom McFarland lends his vocals to the vibey "Ghosts," which features an echoed choir in the back half that feels anthemic without raising the BPM. Guinean vocalist Falle Nioke lends a yearning vocal to the pulsing "Miles Away," while British jazz virtuoso Alabaster DePlume closes the album with the kaleidoscopic exhale "Revery," showcasing his inventive saxophone prowess.
While the majority of Harmonics was written solely by Goddard himself, he allows his songwriting to be elastic, bending and shaping around these guest vocalists, resulting in one of the most personality-filled albums of the year.