Push the Button
The Chemical Brothers
The Verdict: Techno is alive and well with The Chemical Brothers pushing all the right buttons.
4 out of 5 stars
In a time where house music is not as imaginative as it once was, one might wonder why anyone would still bother with it. Techno, in the mind of the average listener, is basically a dead a musical genre. Big house/techno music lived its hey-day in the mid-’90s when it fulfilled people’s desire for a new music sound different from the grunge of Nirvana and the sounds of “divas” like Celine Dion.
Since then, techno music has taken a downfall in the United States. But with the release of The Chemical Brothers’ fifth studio album since their debut Exit Planet Dust in 1995 and Dig Your Own Hole in 1997, which garnered the band success in America, the brothers have shown hope for a dying art form.
Push The Button is a highly energized and impressive LP to come from a group that was written off as “past its prime” a few years ago. It’s more a trippy, hour-long musical journey than 11 different techno songs. Each track flows seamlessly to the other, keeping the music mesmerizing.
The Chemicals Brothers kick off PTB with “Galvanize,” which is clearly the highlight of the album and makes even the most anti-techno listeners take interest. A wild, Middle Eastern sample and eerie howls start off the track as old-school beats break through the skin, and the Wu Tang Clan’s Q-Tip spits his raps to the pulsating beat: “And you shouldn’t even care about the posers in the air/and their crooked stares/Don’t hold back!” About three minutes into “Galvanize,” the beat is replaced by electronic pulses that grow in intensity until the beat gets thrown back in and the music blasts off into classic techno territory.
“The Boxer” is chock full of laid-back funk with a block party atmosphere. Brit-pop singer Tim Burgess sings of his great state of mind: “I can’t seem to shake this feeling/I can’t seem to put it down!” while the beat hops along to a well-placed cowbell.
“Believe” sounds like a post-apocalyptic “Billie Jean” with industrial grinds seeping through the famous beat and Kele Okereke’s robotic voice straining, “I need you to believe!”
Tom-tom drums and Anna-Lynne Williams’ breathy, tweaked vocals meander their way through the low-key but visceral sounds of “Hold Tight London,” while “Come Inside” stays true to the Chemical Brothers’ traditional formula with a bubbling bass line accentuated by different musical interjections.
“The Big Jump” sounds ready to fill any stadium full of acid-tripping hipsters, and rapper Anwar Superstar gathers his soldiers in “Left Right” to make a political/techno song: “What’s the difference between Bush and Saddam?”
High-pitched piano and floating harmonies create an atmosphere for the sad love song “Close Your Eyes,” a collaboration with the Magic Numbers who sing about pain in love: “In your eyes I can see you fell in love/and it pains my head.”
“Shake Break Bounce” demands just what the title says. The brisk beats bop and trip along to a jungle bass thump. If Justin Timberlake were to dabble in electronica, it would sound like this.
“Marvo Ging” evokes a hip-hop snake-charming while it rides a minimalist bass line and strained steel guitar. It’s an ecstasy head-trip that flows right into “Surface to Air,” an even more psychedelic joyride lasting seven and a half minutes with enough Matrix-style effects to spare. Soaring synth riffs surge halfway into the song to let the listener’s mind fall off into Prozac paradise.
With Push The Button, The Chemical Brothers have created a musical collage of emotions that range from energized and club-ready anthems to mellowed out ballads and free-flowing mindbenders. By the end of Push The Button, The Chemical Brothers make us crave the music more and more. We’re more than willing to push play again.