THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS For That Beautiful Feeling ( EMI / Virgin )
Considered figureheads of the Big Beat sub-genre of electronic music , The Chemical Brothers never shied away from injecting the loud rush of rock and roll music into their dance floor ready sound . Where ambient techno drifted along on humming synth notes perfect for a relaxing night of headphone-induced reflection , Big Beat ’ s sole purpose was to start a party . Early on , the Manchester duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons went by the moniker The Dust Brothers before the American duo of the same name took umbrage , rebranding as The Chemical Brothers in 1995 for their head-turning debut album Exit Planet Dust . The mix of pounding drums , psychedelic samples from cobwebbed stacks of vinyl and star-laden guest spots ( Noel Gallagher , Richard Ashcroft , Tim Burgess , Beth Orton etc ) turned The Chemical Brothers into media darlings in the late 90s especially after their 1997 breakthrough Dig Your Own Hole . Where electronic music certainly became even more popular post-Y2K , being reduced to the term “ EDM ” aka Electronic Dance Music , most of the psychedelic flavor found in 80s and 90s dance music had been severely watered-down . Superstar DJs like Steve Aoki , David Ghetta and DeadMau5 turned dance music into a more corporate thing , selling out stadiums while the art of mixing samples had regressed into simply pressing a spacebar on their laptops . Is there a place for the heady psych-beats of The Chemical Brothers in 2023 ? Of course ! Their 10th album For That Beautiful Feeling is full of the catchy rock-influenced techno that the boys have been peddling since the Clinton administration , albeit with a clarity in the production that is light years ahead of their early 12 inch singles . These compositions never sit still for more than a moment , constantly morphing into new sonic worlds . “ No Return ” is a classic Chem banger , all chunky low end and ethereal synth melodies on top . “ Fountains ” showcases their talent of taking a random sample and flipping it in a way that turns it into a catchy pop track . “ Magic Wand ” combines a golden era hip hop beat with what sounds like a horror film theme . In the past few years the CBs have been less reliant on guest vocalists , however Beck makes a great guest turn on the world-weary folktronica of “ Skipping Like A Stone .” Where electronic music is often a disposable heretoday gone-tomorrow trend , the Chemical Brothers have become an institution and their staying power may one day have them be mentioned in the same breath as pioneers of electronic music like Brian Eno , Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream and that is quite a beautiful feeling .
– Andy Derer
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