Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons from The Chemical Brothers.
Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons from The Chemical Brothers.
It starts just like the good old days. With a throbbing beat giving way to glitchy hooks and silky vocals, Sometimes I Feel So Deserted entices you to jump around like their late-90s classics Out of Control and Let Forever Be.
It shows the Chemical Brothers could easily release athrowback record, head out on tour, perform the hits between two giant glowing orbs, and rake in the cash. And with Q-Tip popping up on recent single Go - a retread of their 2005 hit Galvanize - album No. 8 certainly threatens to do that after the first couple of songs.
But Born in the Echoes quickly becomes its own thing. If you're looking for big beats, massive drops and trappy bass trawls, the new Chemical Brothers album is not for you. With no Skrillex collabs, Diplo production credits or Ellie Goulding guest spots, Echoes is refreshingly free of current dance trends. Instead, the Chem Bros meander calmly down a path of their own making, nodding their heads and veering off course to check out the sights and sounds whenever they can.
That means there's plenty to explore - and Born in the Echoes is just like their 2010 mood piece Further, in that it takes time to sink in. It's worth investing the time. Under Neon Light's clattering blip-rock can be annoying at first, but soon becomes a refreshing retro stomper that finds time for trippy vocals, a searing chorus and a flute solo. EML's Rituals' shouted vocals and dark sirens are a shock to the system, one that continues on the retro psychedelia of I'll See You There and Let's Bang's shuffling aggro thuds.
Radiate is a soothing ballad with rock riffs that would sound amazing echoing around stadiums - until they're interrupted by an odd but weirdly perfect trumpet riff. And Taste of Honey is a real brain spinner, recasting their excellent Lorde-and-Miguel-assisted Hunger Games soundtrack song This Is Not A Game as a spooky downbeat thriller. One of its guests is a buzzing fly.
The album's last song is perhaps its most telling. Wide Open is a Beck-guested ballad which happily splashes about like a lost fish swimming merrily upstream. That's as good a metaphor as any for Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, two studio boffins happily confounding expectations 20 years after their debut.
Artist: Chemical Brothers Album: Born in the Echoes Label: Virgin/EMI Verdict: Dance scientists cook up tasty electro stew.
