Chemical Brothers - 'Push The Button' (Virgin) Released 24/01/05

The Chemical Brothers are back! After a below par album in the form of 'Come With Us' and a greatest hits package in 2003 Tom and Ed get back to their best with 'Push The Button'. Upon first listen this LP feels like The Chems are just going through the motions but repeated plays suggest all is well on Planet Dust…

You will have heard lead single ‘Galvanise’ (featuring hip hop legend Q-Tip) already and should have you jumping up and down and grinning like a loon. This sets the tempo for much of the album with psychedelic funk and pulsating lysergic beats being the order of the day.

Tim Burgess returns to the melee guesting on ‘The Boxer’ to brilliant effect. “I can’t seem to shake this feeeeeeeelin” he sneers over a stuttering Spanish guitar sample while Tom and Ed apply a couple of coats of trademark Chemical bleeps. In fact the guestlist on this record is very impressive eschewing the usual Dadrock crowd (said floppy fringed Charlatan excepted) for the cream of the crop of up and coming talent. Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke gives an excellent performance on ‘Believe’, Mos Def’s brother Anwar Superstar stars on ‘Left Right’ and even The Magic Numbers on introspective highlight ‘Close Your Eyes’. The latter sounding like an LSD inspired Smashing Pumpkins (honestly) with its haunting piano and beautifully soft lead vocal.

It seems the boys have rediscovered what made their earlier work so addictive and have indeed risen to ‘Push The Button’. ‘Hold Tight London’ features on the first half of the album and is exceptional, with white noise and backwards vocals (from Anna Lynne) making the tune sound like a Mogwai track you can dance to. Elsewhere on this album there are moments of real brilliance; ‘Left Right’ throws more hip hop into the mix and gives you the impression that if they ever decide to do a big budget stateside rap album they would rightly dethrone Just Blaze for the mantle of premier bling beatmakers.

They’re not infallible though; ‘Shake Bounce Break’ sounds suspiciously like filler and illustrates everything that was wrong with their last studio record. To be fair it’s a petty gripe as the rest of the album ranges from good to great. It seems unlikely The Chems will ever top their 1999 psychedelic masterpiece ‘Surrender’ but at least we know there is life in them yet (and hopefully more great records). To quote Q-Tip “The time has come to Push The Button…” How right he is…