Further

Artist: The Chemical Brothers
Label: EMI
Website: thechemicalbrothers.com

Further represents the way it was supposed to be.

Let's face it - electronic music was never going to be the next big thing but The Chemical Brothers were right there and showed us what could be done with the genre in and out. Sure, it never caught on to the masses but I can still crank out tunes from Dig Your Own Hole [1997] and they sound as fresh today as they did then.

Fast forward to 2010 and the British duo give us their seventh studio album that possesses more electronic dazzle then their last two records combined. It also is one of The Chemical Brothers most organic pieces of work, as there are no tricks, no guest vocalists and just plenty of grooving vibes. The vocals that are here fade in and then fade out, as they provide more of a secondary structure for the tracks.

Opening track "Snow" is completely beatless, which is just an interesting and entertaining listen and the twelve minute "Escape Velocity" is a wild space ride all on its own. This release won't be for everyone because this is a straight up electronica record but for anyone that was there in the beginning and remembers The Chemical Brothers excellent debut Exit Planet Dust [1995], Further should remind you of why we cared in the first place.

Christopher Anthony

For more of Christopher Anthony's music reviews, check out The Fire Note