Chemical Brothers - Surrender

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• Chemical Bros, The - Surrender Electronic Brazil Import

Free Music Notes for Surrender

Free Music Review: One of 1999's best
Hit: 5 Stars

With the Chems forsaking their trademark block-rockin' beats for the traditional 4/4 of the dance floor, it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to anyone who bought DJs Tom Rowlands and Ed Simon's mix album "Brothers Gonna Work It Out"--this is just the boys going back to their roots here. Only, instead of simple club-ready retreads, they lay down some impressive sonics that simultaneously seem dated and futuristic, familiar yet not too accessible. Even the blatant Beatlemania of "Let Forever Be," with Oasis's Noel Gallagher, is forgivable since it's such a wonderful reminder of what these three did when they attacked us with that trippy ditty "Setting Sun" two years ago.

The Chems fancy themselves as album-making artists, not merely single-pressing DJs. At the expense of underground credibility, what the Chems have done here is bold and enticing. Track after track unfolds almost delicately, without the industrial onslaught of "Exit Planet Dust" or the heavy funk of the gold-selling "Dig Your Own Hole." The bottom line is, any Chem album is going to be bliss, but this time they've created something that absolutely commands repeated listenings to fully appreciate--that's not a chore, but a gift that keeps on giving.

Alas, one small complaint: "Out of Control," a collab with New Order's Bernard Sumner, is the only cut that's out of place here--it sounds a lot like one of New Order's weaker cuts, "Fine Time." Since this session was released as a single anyway, it would've been a wiser marketing and arranging move to keep it off the album--since it's lumped in with other, more mature-sounding tracks, the song just comes off as dull. Still, a small price to pay for such otherwise crafty and creative, pop-based musicmaking.

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