Twenty years into their career and Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, aka The Chemical Brothers, are in much better shape than they have any right to be. Their last album, 2010’s Further, was another fine collection of banging dance tunes, and in the gorgeous, psych-tinged trance number ‘Swoon’, contained a career highlight.
The duo’s extracurricular activities have been of a high standard too, whether it be providing music for the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, scoring the Saoirse Ronan-starring thriller Hanna, or collaborating with Lorde on material for The Hunger Games soundtrack. In a genre that can be as unforgivingly fast-moving as dance, the Chems have stayed on top of their game, helped by the fact that they have carved out their own highly distinctive niche – intense psychedelic electro underpinned by bone-crunching beats.
Born In The Echoes is another terrific magical mystery tour through Rowlands and Simons’ trademark stylistic terrain, albeit with a darker hue than we have come to expect from the pair. In addition to their well-deserved reputation as stellar groove mechanics, the Brothers have always been innovative producers as well, and opening track ‘Sometimes I Feel So Deserted’ nicely demonstrates their ability to assemble mind-bending soundscapes with the best of them.
After the juddering bass and thumping electro groove of ‘Go’, Rowlands and Simons revert to experimental mode for one of the album’s most intriguing tracks, ‘Under Neon Lights’. What makes the song particularly compelling is the appearance of St Vincent, aka Annie Clark, who – thanks to her zeitgeist-defining lyrics, innovative music and striking sense of style – is one of the most fascinating stars in the culture at the moment.
Here, the singer alternates between robotic, heavily processed vocals and swooning falsetto, whilst an ominous soundscape swirls around her, all eerie psychedelia and broken-machine industrial beats. Though the main refrain is “Got no husband, got no life – all I want of you tonight”, Clark signs off with the more troubling, “Suicide under neon lights... Is this really all I want?” It’s one of the most unique tracks you’ll hear this year, and a high-point of the album.
Elsewhere, further disconcerting sentiments are expressed on ‘EML Ritual’ which sees regular Chemical Brothers collaborator Ali Love intoning, “I don’t know what to do /I’m going to lose my mind”, while ‘I’ll See You There’ is a ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’-style head-fuck, and the pounding ‘Just Bang’ does what it says on the tin.
Starting into the home stretch, one of the highlights is the dark electro odyssey ‘Reflexion’, which gives way to the dread-soaked ‘Taste Of Honey’. Blending eerie drone noise, industrial synths and creepy sound effects – not to mention a sample of a buzzing wasp – the track recalls Mezzanine-era Massive Attack, filled with paranoia and distress. Essential listening...
KEY TRACK: 'Under Neon Lights'