Further

The Chemical Brothers
Further
Rating: Grrrr

It is very rare for me to follow a band throughout their entire career. Or I should say, it is very rare for me to have the patience to follow them. Most bands follow an arc where they either descend into an almost parody of themselves (U2, Echo and the Bunnymen), become stagnant and release similar if not the same music over and over (Depeche Mode, New Order), or become increasingly experimental and obscure (Autechre, David Sylvian). It is very rare for a band to continually straddle the line between advancing their sound and not betraying the sound that made them so special to begin with. The only artists that I can really say I keep following are Bjork and Radiohead. I used to get so excited when a new Chemical Brothers cd came out, because they were always doing something interesting and different. Then after Surrender their releases became shockingly boring. Although Come With Us had a few decent tracks, The Chemical Brothers hit their lowest point with Push The Button, and the abysmal We Are The Night; seriously, "The Salmon Dance????"

I had stopped even thinking about new music from them, and was even unaware that they had a new album out. To be honest, I had no plans of even seeking anything out about it, but something made me read a couple of reviews and both reviewers said the same thing, that they weren't expecting anything good at all, but were both extremely surprised by what they heard. Gone are the umpteen-million guest stars, and the ridiculous reliance on the "big beat" sound that they have been so closely associated with. When I finally broke down and got the cd, I was blown away by what I heard, as I wasn't expecting that noticeable a change from the last two cds.

The difference is noticeable off the bat with first track "Snow," with its droning feedback and blips and humming bassline. A melancholic female voice intones almost a mantra with "Your love keeps lifting me/lifting me higher." There is a total absence of beats.



Beats almost seem completely absent until the second minute of "Escape Velocity," the ten minute focal point of Further. The song crests and builds on what sounds like a copy of the Who's "Baba O'Riley" self-destructing.



What is great about Further is that it sounds like The Chemical Brothers but doesn't. There are touchstones, such as the goofy wit in the percussion of "Horse Power"



and the psychedelic drugginess of "Wonders of the Deep"



and even the one stab at recognizable Chemical Brothers, with first single "Swoon."



But gone are the attempts to grab onto latest trends that they are not responsible for, like dubstep, though you can almost sense they wanted to travel further in that direction, based on the wobbly bassline of "Another World."



Further is definite step in the right direction for The Chemical Brothers. It is not as immediately thrilling like Exit Planet Dust or as cohesive and defining a statement as Dig Your Own Hole, but it shows them forging their own path ahead and making great music once again.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not good; could have either been trimmed or spent more time on.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.