For no very good reason, the Chemical Brothers' big-beat sound is a bit out of fashion at the moment. Rather than try to re-invent themselves, however, the studio boffin duo have served up another big helping of the same fare on their fifth album - and it tastes just as good as ever. There are guest vocalists a-plenty here, from the veteran (Tim Burgess, Q-Tip) to the up and coming (Bloc Party's Kele Okereke, the Magic Numbers) and they all deliver the goods, resulting in a set of infectious dance tracks that range from the menacing to the euphoric. If there is a criticism, it's that it sounds more like a random collection of songs rather than a dramatic statement such as their career masterpiece Dig Your Own Hole. Far more important, however, is the fact that Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands have made another dazzling headtrip of a record that shows their chemical formula still has plenty of life left in it.

Your Comments

No comments have been posted for this article yet. Be the first!