Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Chemical Brother's "Midnight Madness"

Holy crap, Manchester 90's are back and better than ever. In what alternate universe would the Verve, Oasis, and the Chemical Brothers ALL have music coming out around the same time? Aside from my obvious bias, I think I objectively love this song (at least as objectively as anyone can love a song).
Rather than release an entirely new album, the Chemical Brothers/Astralwerks decided to boost a little extra life (and perhaps sales) into their new single "Midnight Madness" by bundling it with remasters and exclusives of their best music across the past decade. What I love about this "best of" packaging is that by the time you get to "Midnight Madness", you're thinking "Fuck yeah! Chemical Brothers!!!" which is exactly right, because they're the kind of artist that you can get that enthusiastic about.
Though the band delves into new territory pairing (quite succesfully) with Spank Rock on "Keep My Composure," the duo is unafraid to do the exact same thing that they were doing ten years ago, which makes the single a huge success. Teetering on the edge of deep house,the Chemical Brothers take you on what is undoubtedly meant to be a journey guided by ecstasy (though quite likely the majority of their fans no longer take ecstasy and prefer their music at the gym.)
Pleading synths and stuttering drum machines create a dreamy soundscape that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, like getting a hug from a neon clad raver. And then instead of punching you in the face with their rapping, rocking dance, the brothers drop a friggin disco beat for a (dare I say it) loved up approach that the children are just picking up on now, though these veterans have been pushing since their Hacienda days.

No comments: