Hot Chip have released a music video for “Spell”, off their seventh studio album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy.  The video starts with a couple entering a bedroom, kissing passionately, as vocalist Joe Goddard shares his desire to get lost in a lover.  “Give me your lust, in me your trust / And with this twist, we make our tryst”, he sings lightly.  The dark and foreboding synths paired with a constant clap implies a certain hedonism to go along with the desire.

As the first chorus starts, the couple is now mostly undressed, continuing to make out on the bed.  The chorus, with “Like a spell you are under” being repeated over and over again, is almost hypnotizing.  Around the time the first post-chorus hits and much brighter synths start to materialize, the bedsheets start to move on their own.  One corner of the sheets starts to caress the woman’s leg.  The couple remains unbothered.

The sheets start to reach the man, and eventually restrain him completely as the pillows come to life and start to suffocate him.  The sheets also pull the woman off the side of the bed as the second chorus starts, with the repetition of “Like a spell you are under” now becoming decidedly darker as the man is literally murdered under these pillows.

The sheets roll the now deceased man off the bed as the woman stands up, screaming.  At this point, the pillows and a previously insignificant armchair are singing along with Goddard.  These whimsical singing furniture items and the bright synths create an interesting juxtaposition with the sudden murder of this unnamed man.

The furniture continues to sing and dance as the sheets wrap up and drag away the woman, still frozen in terror.  The video concludes on a shot of the armchair singing the final lyrics, “And now I feel your curse, it’s all that I wanted”.   At this point, most of the song’s production has disappeared, leaving behind just a few synth notes that quickly fade away.  The room is now quiet, save for a few dead bodies and anthropomorphic furniture pieces.

Hot Chip released their most recent album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy, just last month.  The synth-pop band has been active since 2000, and is currently touring all over the world, including a few festival appearances.  Some of their greatest achievements include a Mercury Prize nomination for their second album, The Warning, and a Grammy nomination for their 2008 single, “Ready for the Floor”.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat