I haven't been to keen on their work lately myself. Somewhere after Dig Your Own Hole they took a direction that left me with a distaste in their work, I think it was around the time Surrender came out I slowly lost interest. It wasn't that the scene shifted and the big beat style stopped, I just slowly fell out of their style when it became something other than I was interested in. The artsy tracks have got to go. I remember people going mad over the golden path and how it was a club rocker, imho it couldn't hold a flame to their previous work. Let's see where they go with this one. *crosses fingers*

It's all about what you expect VS what you get.

When I first heard AONO and Push The Button (And even The Golden Path).. I was like.. what the fuck is this junk?

After listening to it for awhile.. it grows on you. You can see where the artists heads were, and where they're coming from. They're masterpieces, really.

Yeap,same feelings here...

i dont know why everyones all down on the chemical brothers lately...i LOVED Push The Button, the one album that i still liked alot but was sorta iffy for me was Come With Us...but even that album had some killer tunes...ill agree though that The Golden Path was extremely weak but i wouldnt say there work has been lacking at all lately...even though Exit Planet Dust is by far there best album i dont expect them to replicate it everytime out.... they're like prodigy in a way where people just want Fat of the Land part 2 but thats not them...each album has its own feel...while all the while you still know that you're listening to a chemical brothers album...

yea it just never grew on me at all

I think that the Chems are one of the very few bands that are always on form. As Chumpclassic said - the only weak stuff was "The Golden Path" and some tracks from Come With Us. But Surrender (the begining of the new direction) was brilliant. As for Push The Button - it's really cool. It's a bit strange though cause it contains some amazing, some decent and 2 really boring tracks(The Boxer and Left Right) - but tunes like "Hold Tight London", "Galvanize", "Believe", "Come Inside", "The Big Jump" and "Close Your Eyes" are massive. Especially "Hold Tight London" -it is among my all time favourite tunes.So beautiful.

Now I have really big expectations.

different strokes for different folks i reckon

I really like The Chemical Brothers !!! Okay, not all tracks are good, every album of them has some weak tracks. Last both albums have some great bombs, but "Galvanize" was played to death here in radio stations....

Can´t wait for new album !

very good news

i quite like ebw 8.. hope they do something in this direction.. dont expect to much of the album as a whole though. theycould never uplive to their own standards after dig your own hole.

That's how I feel as well. It seems alot of artists around that time period seemed to take a shitty approach to their music as the years rolled on. Like the first 2 Fatboy Slim albums for example. They were great, the second one was the best imho. After that it all went to shit for alot of artists in some kind of movement to exchange synthesizers for organic instruments. There's nothing cool about a trombone trying to do an acid line riff

I dunno.. something about alot of artists albums after '98 and up to now remind me of listening to shitty oldies on AM Radio stations.. it's like they took their sample sources and made that the track and slapped some music around the sample. There are some good artists out there still, and I know the Chems can pull off another great album. I just hope they all pull out of this bad trend and go back to something like they did with the big beat era. Granted the big beat era is over but there's nothing to stop producers from continuing to come up with some great beats and lay down some fresh synthesizer sounds. The live approach just sucks the life out of electronic music. If I wanted to hear a live instrument album I'd buy a rock album

Great news. I think we somekind waited their new album. They release every 2 years an album and i personal like them all. I wish liam also could release at least every 3 year with the same success

I know what you mean and i kinda agree with you..A lot of electronic acts just became boring and their albums show nothing but lack of ideas - like Fatboy Slim for example. But on the other hand if you were them maybe you would want to change your sound too. I mean it's more than 10 years now and they just want to develop as musicians - they have new influances, new equipments etc. Music is a part of the pop culture so it's inspired by the new trends. In the Chems case I think is for good (it's just my opinion) and they're influances are the same as mine "do you know what i mean". In Surrender they worked with great musicians and the album sounded so fresh - I couldn't believe that's them, it was so different than Dig Your Own Hole. But different in a good way. In Push The Button they worked with amazing artists too - Kelle Okereke, Anna Lynne, The Magic Numbers, Tim Burgess etc - my point is that they always collaborate with some of the most interesting and fresh musicians of the period. And I can absolutely caim that they almost never made a mistake. Too bad i can't say the same about Liam Howlett.

As for the new album i think we're going to hear some big surprises

I definitely understand Chems or anyone else wanting to change their sound. Though when I follow like any given artist for the most part.. like Prodigy even.. all 4 albums change in sound, but remain for the most part quite electronic and to their nature. Alot of these other acts went for live sounds, which like I said imho sucks the life out of this music. Collabs are fine but work them to your style I say. Don't hook up with a folk artist or a poet and do something to their nature unless you're making it something astonishing and clever that will captivate the electronic community. Even rapper collabs shouldn't need a rap track for it to work. Look at the rave, they did it all the time

To me it's not who you collab with it's how you work the collaboration. You could pick the most unknown person and pull off something amazing rather than pick Norah Jones and go for something more to her tastes. I think there's alot of untapped potential in the scene that could spark something great. Right now I think since the highlights of alot of these acts careers they've all looked for another sound. It's like watching Moby's career. Rave lunatic turned rocker then to some sort of blend later on. Play wasn't a bad album but as part of the electronic community it sucked. Too live and not fitting or helpful for us at all. That's like the Wiseguys, pretty much live samples and everything trying to make breakbeat a live sound right after big beat had ended.. it was a change but a bad one. Only 2 songs at most were decent on the album really. I guess that's why I hope for more out of Chems and other big acts of old. It time to drop the banjo and pick up the synth I want dancefloor classics and anthems. No more soft stuff

Cheerz 4 that - i like the concept