Rating: 4/5
Verdict: Dance music for your head, man
On the last couple of Chemical Brothers albums, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have steered away from the big, slamming, and, to borrow their phrase, block rockin' beats. They seem to be happier to take you higher by harnessing noise, intensifying frequencies, and exploring a more psychedelic realm, rather than lifting the roof off your lounge. And on Further, the Manchester dance duo's seventh album, they take it to the extreme using everything from minimal ambient beats on Wonders of the Deep, to elaborate 80s electro pop on the sugary surge of Swoon.
Opener Snow is beatless, with only wispy and whimsical vocals and a static soundscape to go with it, and it acts as an extended introduction to the 11-minute bleep epic Escape Velocity, which is like Trans Europe Express on helium.
Dissolve has the same cheery jaunt as Setting Sun, but with more of a woozy Eastern influence and graunching guitars, making it a lively stand out.
The Chems have always been influenced by everyone from noisemongers My Bloody Valentine, through to sunny guitar pop, as well as electronica, and on Further these many influences come shining through. While it's probably their most intriguing and diverse work, it's certainly not their most accessible thanks to tracks like K+D+B, with its clattery and dead-beat din, and the torrid and pummelling Horse Power.
But for long-time fans it's well worth taking your head for a spin in this dizzying dance music album and it's great to know that even after more than 20 years the pair are still keen to take dance music further.
