If anyone's suffering from new-year blues, Come With Us will shake them out of their narcolepsy. This fantastic album roars out of the starting blocks like a supercharged dragster, blowing up a heady fume of hip-hop techno flavoured with the Chemical's new found post-rave happiness. Their fourth album shows all the passion of their earlier works coupled with a sophistication beyond the mere wish to knock people's musical heads off. Impressively after over six years of making music and touring they've lost none of their enthusiasm. In fact their longevity seems to inspire them to greater achievement in a field that traditionally feeds off the new, the novel and the young. Best of all, the Brothers have developed the ability to communicate heartfelt emotions, evident on tracks such as the Beth Orton sung "The State We're In", the Pink Floyd-like "Pioneer Skies" and magnificent album closer "The Test". That doesn't mean that there aren't the "traditional" Chemical Brothers' dancefloor killers. The opener and title track "Come With Us" is easily the pulsating equal of "Hey Boy Hey Girl" or 1995's "Block Rockin' Beats". Both already released singles, the bizarre "It Began in Afrika" and the Donna Summer-meets-Kraftwerk blur of "Star Guitar" are included in their original form. They're probably the album's weakest tracks. The Brothers have moved on, yet they're still as good as they were. Go with them. -- Jake Barnes
Track Listing
Come With Us It Began In Afrika Galaxy Bounce Star Guitar Hoops My Elastic Eye The State We're In (Featuring Beth Orton) Denmark Pioneer Skies The Test (Featuring Richard Ashcroft)
