Chemical Brothers - Further ****

Further
Parlophone ****

With their last album, 2007's We Are the Nightshowing them to be at a bit of a creative impasse, there was a lot resting on this new Chemical Brothers release. No longer as crossover-friendly as they were in their prime, they have boldly done away with all the star vocalist collaborations, relying instead on their own instincts. This is a very impressive collection that is carried along with a stirring sense of velocity and momentum. On Escape Velocityand Swoonthey find themselves in a middle of a Krautrock, psychedelic blizzard. A complex wash of sound finds them combining strong rhythms with warped effects to lift the sound on to another level. Nowhere near as instantly commercial as previous releases, this, though, has manifold merits - not least is ability to engage on so many musical levels.

Download tracks: Swoon, Escape Velocity