Posted on: Friday, February 4, 2005
CD REVIEWS
Chemical Brothers' 'Push' a little hollow
Knight Ridder News Service
"Push the Button" by The Chemical Brothers; Astralwerk It's hard work to stay at the top of a field as mercilessly mutating as dance music. And "Galvanize," the first track on The Chemical Brothers' fifth full-length, suggests that, eight years after their mainstream breakthrough, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons might finally be ready for the cut-out bin.
"A Tribe Called Quest's Q Tip" delivers a dull, witless rap over a relentlessly repetitive 6 1/2-minute big-beat groove that fails to get the party started. So skip it. And don't worry: They may not be innovating anymore, but the Brothers still know how to work it out. Because starting with "The Boxer," a stuttering groove with vocals by Tim Burgess of Charlatans U.K., and the thumping "Believe," with Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, Rowlands and Simons get back on track.
Anna-Lynne Williams does the ethereal female vocal turn on "Hold Tight London," which starts in the chill-out room, then makes its move to the dance floor.
The Brothers would do well to note that Button's finest creation, the elegantly paced closer, "Surface to Air," takes care of its trippy, ecstatic business without the distraction of a guest vocalist.
— Dan DeLuca
Yo La Tengo fans, take note: "A Question of Temperature" features YLT and keyboardist Tyson Rogers backing Chris Stamey, formerly of the dBs, on a set of covers and Stamey-penned originals that recalls such classic YLT albums as Fakebook and Electr-O-Pura.
Fueled by political frustration and Ira Kaplan's noisy electric guitars, "Temperature" is a loose and often exciting collaboration. They turn Vietnam-era protest songs including the Les McCann/Eddie Harris classic "Compared to What" into heavy, indignant rock stomps.
In contrast, Stamey originals such as "Sleepless Nights" are mostly wistful and light ruminations. Best of all is Stamey's "McCauley Street," a nearly 11-minute Lou Reed homage in which Kaplan takes off on one of his patented feedback-laden solos.
— Steve Klinge
"A Question of Temperature" by The Chris Stamey Experience; Yep Roc
