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The Chemical
Brothers: Push the Button
I can still remember the first time back in 1995 when I heard Life Is Sweet by the Chemical Brothers. Those cut up beats and pulsing electronics matched with Tim Burgess subtle inclination to buy a million drugs seemed to suggest the future of music in more ways than one. Long after the death of Acid House and the heyday of the Manchester music scene, however, I hardly realized that this future, by 1995, had in many ways already passed me by. Such is the curse of The Chemical Brothers, one of the only modern electronic artists still capable of bridging the gap between techno and rock fans. By the time they really got going, there was nobody in the scene left to cover their backs. Electronica was hyped up and torn down before they even got the chance to release their third album. So they struggled a bit for direction, but are still around ten years later for Push the Button. Nevertheless, I was immediately excited to hear that Tim Burgess of The Charlatans UK would once again contribute vocals to a track called The Boxer. The fact that both artists are still highly active making music seems a minor miracle to me, but The Boxer works pretty well when you turn up the volume loud enough. The song bounces around a very digital sort of noise hook that has a sort of Grime feel to it. Such nods to current trends mix well with Tims vocal conjuring of Ian Brown with the carefully nicked refrain down, down, down, down that would perk the ears of most Stone Roses fans. Yet a Grime influence isnt the only trick the brothers have to convince you that theyre still current. How about the track Believe, which features vocals by Kele Okereke? You might have heard him as the lead singer of Bloc Party, and his work here displays his odd knack of hooking you with his anxious inflection as he belts out I need you to believe over all sorts of crazy electronic squeaks. Also mentionable is the albums opener, Galvanize, which is a pretty cool collaboration with Q-Tip. We have a really nice hook here based on what sounds like a brief digital symphony riff. Q-Tip also offers up a cheeky tease, my finger is on the button, which works into a nice techno breakdown. My only complaint is that the commercial production conjures a few memories of Biggie and Puff Daddys Mo Money Mo Problems. Stateside, such attempts to fuse Hip-Hop with Techno seem doomed, because most rap fans could care less about the Techno flourishes The Chemical Brothers are so good at delivering. I have to give the thumbs up though for Galvanize and the later track Left Right, which also mixes in some heavy rap from Anwar. Another highlight is Hold Tight London and its use of female vocalist Anna-Lynn Williams. The vocals hardly do more than suggest a little Dido or Sarah McLachlan, but the trippy production utilized here is a bit more satisfying than anything Delerium or Faithless has done in that direction. The fact that Push the Button is successful in fusing such diverse styles of music deserves mention, especially when a number of techno artists like The Prodigy seem to have run out of ideas nowadays. The future may never be quite as glamorous as the golden days of the past, but The Chemical Brothers are still working harder than most to keep mixing up our musical landscape.
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