- The big beat rock stars return with a vibrant but often scattershot album.
- The surge of popularity in mainstream EDM around the world has created opportunities for some of its biggest influences to cash in on new generations of festivalgoers. Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim, Aphex Twin and other formative English artists continue to command some of the circuit's biggest stages, with impressive light shows and staging rigs to match. At their best—like Aphex Twin's long-lasting reign of terror—these artists also remind audiences that loud, thrilling dance music is not just a recent development, but rather a tradition that goes back decades. The Chemical Brothers are one of the best-primed acts for this sort of late-career resurgence, having just finished a lauded tour through the US—but the truth is they never really stopped.
In the 28 years since their debut LP Exit Planet Dust, the pair have perfected a technicolour version of big-tent euphoria combining the theatrical sweep of Britpop with crunchy beats and soaring melodies—all before the mainstream style of dubstep was even a genre. It's a formula that has spawned multiple chart-topping records, hit singles and awards, including a Grammy win for their last album, 2019's No Geography. Their tenth LP, For That Beautiful Feeling, returns to their well-established formula once again, at times surging with renewed ambition and other times falling curiously flat.
The intensity of For That Beautiful Feeling can also be overwhelming—The Chemical Brothers aren't going for nuance here. These songs are loud, clear and oversaturated with colour and texture. Different elements constantly vie for attention with little change in dynamic. "Live Again," one of two cuts featuring French singer Halo Maud, showcases the album's galaxy-sized sound early on. The song's thumping techno beat and buzzsaw synths rise to a triumphant chorus and stay there. The duo uses its signature elements—breakbeats, filtered synths, vocal samples—in the two following tracks, "No Reason" and "Goodbye." The former is overshadowed by the blast radius of "Live Again," while "Goodbye" matches its red-hot energy with a searing synth line.
At this point in the LP it feels like the Chemical Brothers are headed for the cosmos. Instead, they veer off track with "Fountains" and "Magic Wand," two slower big beat throwbacks that don't connect with the rest of the album's larger, more imposing sound. Compared to the power of "Live Again" and "Goodbye," they feel lightweight. "The Weight" struts confidently with a slithering bassline while a fiery sample of South Bronx's "The Big Throwdown" interrogates the audience. "Who's gonna take the weight? / Who's gonna take the blame?" The questions seem forced and perfunctory on an LP focused on the psychedelic pleasures of dance music.
The album regains its focus with the Beck-starring "Skipping Like A Stone." The alt-rock crooner, who first collaborated with the duo on 2015's "Wide Open," gives a commanding performance that fits smoothly over the track's uptempo beat and warning sirens. The Chemical Brothers do eventually reach a climax with "Feels Like I Am Dreaming," a pummeling acid track that brings to mind the hyperspeed productions of Two Shell, a younger UK duo who work in a similarly maximal mold. But because of the LP's awkward pacing and scattershot mid-section, the rush of energy feels like it comes out of nowhere.
A needed moment of levity comes as "Feels Like I Am Dreaming" wanes and a soft bed of synths clear the air. I wished there were more like it earlier to vary the mix and give the listener a chance to catch their breath. Before long, the pair sets its gaze into the abyss. For That Beautiful Feeling ends with ominous tones that indicate a dangerous path ahead. The Chemical Brothers still have plenty of fuel left—it's just a matter of using it wisely.
Tracklist01. Intro
02. Live Again feat. Halo Maud
03. No Reason
04. Goodbye
05. Fountains
06. Magic Wand
07. The Weight
08. Skipping Like A Stone feat. Beck
10. The Darkness That You Fear (Harvest Mix)
11. For That Beautiful Feeling feat. Halo Maud