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Chemical Brothers

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Chemical Brothers

Chemical Brothers

Manchester, U.K. duo Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons have put the arena-rock bombast in Britain’s rave scene since ’95 thanks to their ability to blend power-chord guitars with old-school house, hip-hop breakbeats and soul dusties. Little wonder that the Chemical Brothers translate to mainstream audiences all over the world. Longevity and legacy alone prove that Chemical Brothers are one of the greatest electronica acts of all time. It starts with their Virgin Records released debut album 1995’s Exit Planet Dust. If there was a snap-shot of EDM in the mid 90’s, this would be a good document. Their second album, 1997’s Dig Your Own Soul, refines the Big Beat formula and takes it to the next generation: a mix of vocals, walloping drum beats, and disco psychedelia that crush barriers between genres. “Block Rockin’ Beats” sets the tone, driving Nine Inch Nails-sized beats through a Schooly D hip-hop sample, while “Setting Sun” channels the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows” with the help of Oasis’ own Noel Gallagher, the Brothers prove that it can go up to eleven. 1999’s Surrender gave more of a nod to their influences: Kraftwerk on “Music: Response,” Revolver-era Beatles on “Let Forever Be” and New Order on “Out of Conrol.” 2002’s Come to Us was a return to form, but only the tripped-out, near beatless atmospherics of “Hoops” was anything innovative of note. 2005 gave us Push the Button, which saw one of their biggest hits “Galvanize”  which saw them collaborate with Q-tip, something that would be a reoccurring theme. 2007 gave us We Are the Night, their sixth studio album. The album would win the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 50th Grammy Awards. There have been some solid compilations: 2003’s Singles: 93-03, 2007’s B-Sides- Vol. 1, and 2008’s Brotherhood; as well as a solid soundtrack effort with the band scoring and releasing 2011’s Hanna – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. 2010 gave us Further, which was their first album to not feature any guest vocalists. Which gets us to when I jumped on board, 2012’s live album/DVD feature Don’t Think. I had never seen or heard anything like it. It truly blew me away. I’ve been a huge fan ever since, and since then we have gotten two solid studio efforts: 2015’s Born in the Echoes (which saw them collaborate with Q-tip once more on a personal favorite of mine, “Go”) and their most recent 2019’s ninth-album No Geography. This band can blend psychedelic sensory overload with riotous club bangers. This band is not afraid to shape-shift, and in the electronic world where so many seem to play it safe, I admire that about them. There is no one quite other…
Chemical Brothers

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