Album Review: The Chemical Brothers - Born In The Echoes

‘Big Beat’ tragics are having a field day with Leftfield, The Prodigy, Paul Hartnoll (via 8:58) and now The Chemical Brothers all with new releases that sprinkle fresh magic onto old templates. Born In The Echoes represents a pivotal release for those who felt Tom ‘n’ Ed’s block-rockin’ beats had become flaccid. That Ed Simons had been focusing on academia in recent times meant live at least, Tom Rowlands has been working it out solo. The diversion appears to have reconnected The Brothers and much of this album does indeed appear to have been born of their own echoes.

The opening trifecta is as solid as they’ve ever been. Get lost in Sometimes I Feel So Deserted’s classic rave-wave and Annie ‘St Vincent’ Clark flickering Under Neon Lights. Then witness Q-Tip’s lightning strike a second time on Go — impossible to stand still to, begging a Breakdance revival. Less can be said of Do It Again’s Ali Love returning on the unsettling EML Ritual or I’ll See You There’s bad-LSD tripping, trying to recapture The Private Psychedelic Reel’s maelstrom yet without a tune to carry it.

However, if the most powerful facet of The Chemical Brothers’ template is smartly chosen collaborators, finishing with Beck on Wide Open is a masterstroke. It may sound ‘a bit Xx’, and Mr Hansen sounds more chipper he has in years, but it gives the album an elegant closer as satisfying as Alive Alone or Surface To Air.