The Chemical Brothers
Further

Half the world thought they were done for, the underrated "We Are The Night" (a danceable mix of 80s revival sounds and shifts towards commercial pop. In my opinion, it still remains a quality album with at least three masterpiece tracks) made old fans turn up their noses and piqued little curiosity among new ones. Over 15 years of audio recordings, sound manipulations, brilliant insights, and also compositional skill, the chemical brothers surely couldn’t continue their career making everyone believe they had become outdated. And so, after three years... and in only eight tracks (for a total of "only" 52 minutes), the Chemical Brothers create the new SURRENDER! (Or let's say an "almost" perfect sequel) making everyone rethink... except the usual critics "for hobby", those who, if they hear an album with new sound perspectives, say they have missed the mark, while if they hear a return to the origins, say they have no more ideas and are forced to repeat themselves. Critics are everywhere, like parsley. It's common practice. So let's ignore those who will listen to this album during their lunch break and say "Bleah". The album is valid, very valid, an electronic gem whose only limitation is being trapped in a trademark that's too branded.

We are therefore facing a 1999 Chemical style work, with a sound sometimes more experimental, other times more mature, but mostly similar to the sound of the late last century. It could have been a perfect "Surrender -part 2", but there are two tracks that, in my opinion, do not allow the album to fully deserve this label. But let's get to the review of the tracks:

The Kraftwerk! Oh yes... yes, yes! No use pretending otherwise... the intro of "Snow" is identical to any piece by the German group, but then... the vocal sampling and the hint of a thud from the bass drum bring us back to the Chemical style in a flash. Acid sounds, transistors thrown into water, crazy radars, pulsations from Mars, sprinkles of dreamy noises and even a bit of pseudo Easy Listening. The feeling is that of landing with Apollo's LEM on another planet... and observing incredible alien landscapes... Pandora style! Well... let's get off the Apollo and see what happens.

Oh my... something is visible on the horizon... flashes of light... holograms in the sky... the dust of the ground starts to tremble... planets spinning faster and faster! What's happening? "Escape Velocity" is simply starting, and when the straight bass drum kicks in, an interplanetary frenzy erupts! Naked alien women with four breasts running towards you dancing, the sun flashing like a disco led, God's foot beating the bass drum! Stars coming together forming dancing figures, your heart reaches your throat, you're on a cerebral roller coaster, you have an immediate erection, you open your eyes, you're in your living room... and you start swinging from the chandelier screaming "aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh" but also wanting to shout "I'm the king of the universe!" (not to copy Cameron).

The track advances... it's dynamite as hadn't been heard since "Come With Us", a breathtaking power. Listen to it with nice 450-watt speakers! You bounce so much you manage to self-fellate! 12 minutes of electronic psychedelic dance delirium! The rhythm pulses, then stops, restarts with its furious beat, then seems to slow down... but then the chemists grab you by the ears and say "Where the hell do you think you are going? It's not over!" and you say "woooow" and BOOOOOOOM, an atomic cannon shot splits your head open like a crowbar and for a moment you see the Madonna doing a lap dance!!! I haven't had a similar orgasm since the days of... guess?

"Another World" is like a cigarette after an amazing sex session. Great beginning, relaxing, with distorted sounds, even a bit unpleasant I must say, but the fusion with the vocal part creates a harmony that takes you entirely. Too bad that for this type of sound five and a half minutes is a bit too long. The chorus, after the third time, loses a bit of its bite. Reading around the web, I've seen it's considered one of the best songs of the album, but in my opinion, it's one of the least striking (though I admit that with each listen it grows on me more).

From "Dissolve" onward, we are faced with the aforementioned surrender-esque sonorities, finally returning to the old days, with dance electronic again mingling with Rock (and that’s what made them famous damn!). "Dissolve" is Chemical Style 100%. Drum loops combined with masterfully manipulated and distorted little guitars, almost beatlessian vocal parts, a fusion of psychedelic sound for a generational anthem, a bumper car collision of rock noises and enchanting electronic sounds. One of the best tracks on the album! To be danced naked on rooftops at sunset.

I've been hearing the same thing for years (from the duo’s fans), "when will they make a new 'Hey Girl, Hey Boy?'", they’ve probably gotten tired of listening to you... and they did it! There's no doubt, "Horse Power" is the perfect sequel to one of the best Techno tracks of the last 15 years. The resemblance to the 1999 little sister is understood in the tenth second of execution when those psycho-crazy intermittent backgrounds we loved so much in HGHB enter, more than a copycat, I see it as an amused self-celebration in equine sauce. The idea of the horse neigh is formidable! The track is tough, angry, aggressive like never before, repetitive in certain passages but... damn it’s badass! The tracks that pump the most are just two... but to say that the Chemical Brothers have stopped making TOUGH songs for years... that’s far off! But where do you listen to these albums? In the mp3 player that came with the gas station points? Two tracks like "Escape Velocity" and "Horse Power" could cause a heart attack to a bionic man. Buy a good system before saying there's no power here. Or is someone here presumptuous enough to say that "Smack My Bitch Up" by the Prodigy is more powerful than these? There’s no comparison! Take the CD out of the Fiat 500 radio.

Fortunately, however, this is not just a TUNZ TUNZ TUNZ BOOM BOOM BOOM album. The brothers have learned well how to play with psychedelia and cerebral music. The first single "Swoon" will undoubtedly be the most popular track, with sparkling games of sound manipulation for an acid-dream effect that, however, at the fourth minute starts to be annoying to the ears. "K+D+B" is 100% chemical melody, here reaching the level of "The Private Psychedelic Reel" without exaggerating, and for the first time, one of the two brothers... sings!!!! Or rather samples his voice, making it acceptable with the vocoder. The result is a sweep of sounds with a high visionary component, one of their classic "journeys" in sound. Perfect for concluding their new live sets.

Speaking of high rate "Oh my god how beautiful... I am flying!" musical journeys, the final track "Wonders Of The Deep" is wonderful! No other words. Here too, a rocking drum, barely whispered little guitar samples, and the usual psychedelic spiral accompanied by dreamy vocal parts. The album closes as such, marking a great return to the electronic scene, proving the chemical guys still have it, confirming themselves as number ones in the genre. However, despite the nearly an hour duration, time seems to fly by, and indeed eight tracks pass by too quickly. They will probably become 8 singles! Maybe that's why they didn't include more? Do they want to turn all the tracks into hits? (From now to the next two years).

Dedicated to all those who did nothing but repeat "Ugh... we want a return to the origins"

TIE'!!!!