Home > Los Angeles Music > CD Review > The Chemical Brothers, "We Are the Night"

Backstory: Remember 1997? Bill Clinton was president, a new sitcom called "Dharma & Greg" was teaching America how to laugh again and electronica was poised to take over the world. Leading the way was the U.K. duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simon, a.k.a. The Chemical Brothers, a group that mixed thunderous percussion, psychedelica and A-level guest vocalists. And a decade later…wow, do people change.

Why you should care: Will anyone ever again utter the phrase "block-rockin' beats" when discussing the Chems? On "Night," the noise is muffled, the funk is up and the beats are pure Casio. Outside of the dance floor monster "Burst Generator," this is more akin to a minimalist house or trance record than Big Beat. And that's a shame.

Verdict: While 2005's "Push the Button" offered up new sounds and an A-level single ("Galvanize"), "Night" feels like a big step backwards. Exploring new musical territory is good, but that's no excuse for the B-level electro-funk featured in "Do It Again" (think a poor man's Timbaland) or the excruciating hip-hop/spoken word number "The Salmon Dance," which may make you pine for the nuanced subtleties of "The Electric Slide."

X-Factor: You'd have to read the liner notes to notice, but buzz band The Klaxons guest star on track three, "All Rights Reserved."

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