Hyped for months now in the States as the official "next big thing," The Chemical Brothers follow-up to their 1995 debut, Exit Planet Dust, is worthy of the tag.
Kicking off with a Schooly D sample on the current single "Block Rockin' Beats" and ending with an astonishing 9 minute psychedelic trip called "The Private Psychedelic Reel", Dig Your Own Hole is stronger and more varied the debut release.
The afore-mentioned "Block Rockin' Beats" gives way to the title track, a funky five minute synthesis of Chemical style - the tempo changes, shouted samples, funky guitar samples and even the odd whistle. "Electrobank" is a chaotic, driving seven minutes that supposedly samples from over 200 different sources, mixing them with trademark Chemical beats. "Piku" slows things down, scratchy loops and ominous sounding samples, while "Setting Sun" speeds things right up again. Heavily played last year, Oasis' Noel Gallagher provides a distorted vocal from Planet Rock as the apocalypse rages and swarms around him.
The rest is similarly excellent. "Get Up On It Like This", lifted from an earlier cd single, is like a 70s television theme brutalized into dance. "It Doesn't Matter" begins with a high-hat cymbal and drum beat that sounds like it was sampled from one of those Casio keyboards with the pre-programmed rhythms. "Where Do I Begin?" features vocals by Beth Orton, who sang "Alive Alone" on Exit Planet Dust. A slow, dreamy affair, it's not quite as successful as more conventionally structured previous collaboration, but slows the tempo nicely before the stunning finale.
"The Private Psychedelic Reel" is a masterpiece. Featuring the assistance of Mercury Rev, the Brothers swirl buzzing keyboards, Indian sitars, harmonica, drum loops, and damn near anything else they could get their hands on, apparently. The tempo shifts all over the place as recurring melody lines wander around an infectious beat. The obvious reference point is The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," and the trippy feel is similar. Freak-out music for the next millenium - this one needs to be played very loud, preferably in a large place with thousands of other people.
It's worth noting that the two 'breakthrough' electronic singles in the States, "Setting Sun" and The Prodigy's "Firestarter" both feature vocals and a fairly structured verse/chorus type arrangement. It remains to be seen whether aggressive instrumental dance music is going to be as successful as these one-off hits. If anything has a chance, it's this album.
Dark and brutal, the Chemical Brothers aren't messing around on Dig Your Own Hole. Funky, menacing, hardcore and accessible, this is serious music for dancing. Go and dance to it. You'll get the chance soon - the co-headlining tour with The Orb starts April 24th.
