Chemical Brothers: Further

Label: Astralwerks

The 90s dance-music wave that made the Chemical Brothers worldwide stars has receded a bit (at least from its central prominence in indie music), so those not dedicated to the Chems (or their scene) might roll eyes at the group's ongoing existence. But years of headlining ginormous festivals with all kinds of other artists has certainly taught these guys a few things: the eight massive tracks making up Further, the seventh studio album from Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, incorporates all kinds of moves, from total pop melodicism to psychedelia-through-repetition. "Escape Velocity" proves that Rowlands and Simon haven't lost their love for dancefloor dramatics, building a synth castle that could house both the muddy-field dancers and the Neu fans. "Another World" makes use of a looped vocal hook, again importing pop methodology to its dance-music realm, while "K+D+B" sounds like an ecstasy trip without any of the dated 90s-style associations (dumb pants, drooling teenagers, etc.). Hail the once and current kings of cool electronic dance music! (Deluxe CD/DVD version features visuals for each track.) (Bosco)