Oh, Chemical Brothers. I remember you! At a time where some of my most played tracks are coming from the likes of Justice and electronic acts who pretty much bleed references to the 90’s electroscene, the Chemical Brothers have found themselves in a place of respectable seniority. And, sure, they deserve most of that respect. Alongside other UK trendsetters in the ’90s (ie. Meat Beat Manifesto, the Prodigy, Propellerheads, et al.), the Brothers helped define the genre of big beat (later redubbed ‘electronica’) and made some pretty hot tracks in the process.
In the interim between their 90’s glory days and now, the Brothers haven’t quite given up. A few mediocre LPs have dropped but they continue to play live sets at the likes of the Coachella Festival and in places like Belgrade and Prague. And now, in 2007, they can add another awkwardly named full length to their name: We are the Night.
Don’t ask me where the name comes from. Does anything on the album hint at them actually personifying “night-time”? If you discount the title track that repeats “we are the night” like 200 times… Not really. Does the album contain anything as banging as ye olde Block Rockin’ Beats? Yeah, not really.
But! What we are left with is a Brothers that is simultaneously much bizarre and much more kitsch than ever before. There are definitely some highlights here. And yes, the single (’Do It Again’) is pretty much the weakest track on the album.
For instance, check out ‘Battle Scars’ and you can almost hear the silliness of Art of Noise being cited in having young Willy Mason do his thing over an off-kilter xylophone beat. Or spin ‘the Salmon Song’ which features a conversation between an MC (Fatlip) and… you guessed it… Sammy the Salmon. Fishy.
In the end, I am actually pleasantly surprised with We are the Night. It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t prepared to mourn the Brothers and politely ask them to leave the horse alone. But the album is quirky and, while it isn’t as cohesively awesome as some of the young imitators currently on-scene or even their own earlier work, I definitely appreciate it dropping.
Keep on peddling, Brothers.
We are the Night will be released on June 21, 2007 on Astralwerks Records. In the meantime, check out their official site for more information.
mp3:
The Chemical Brothers: Battle Scars (ft. Willy Mason)
The Chemical Brothers: The Salmon Dance (ft. Fatlip)
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