Music Review: The Chemical Brothers' 'For That Beautiful Feeling' Is Dreamy Electronic Music
"For a Good Feeling", The Chemical Brothers (Republic Records)
Think, if you can, of the 90s: when the popularity of rock bands faded and electronic music took over. While techno and acid house are invading the dance scene, the Chemical Brothers are already pioneers of the Big Beat genre. This spirit continues on the 10th album of the British duo For the Beautiful Feeling.
Back then, "Hey Girl Hey Boy" and "Galvanize" by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons electrified the airwaves. While EDM comes and goes, becoming a cultural landmark in this reporter's ears, only to fade into the warm, easy-listening foreground, the revolutionary music of the Chemical Brothers never wavers. They still find less obvious rhythms and harmonies in "For that beautiful feeling"; They never lose the "it" factor.
The 11-track disc exudes a dreamlike, supernatural atmosphere that faithfully reflects its title. Recorded in their studio on the coast of England, you can almost feel the chills running down your shoulders as the music lifts them up. It's your favorite Chemical Brothers song with a wave of immediacy and an angelic vocal growl from Hello Maude, who appears on three tracks: "Live Again," a cohesive exploration of hypnosis; "No Reason", funky 70s bass funk with funky reverb and woo; and "The Darkness That You Fear," which embraces multi-instrumental holiday sounds, all courtesy of a Mod collaboration.
Elsewhere, a track like "The Weight" evokes a vintage police chase, while "Fountains" is the musical embodiment of a dancing bad guy in a leather jacket. Skipping Like a Stone features a collaboration with alt-rock favorite Beck, the band's second album since 2015's Wide Open.
The songs, varied and fun, together form a beach space that lets you dream in complete safety under the sun, by the sea.
