The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling
Electronic – Released September 8, 2023 – 11 songs, 47 mins
ROZ
If you’ve taken the time to peruse our modest website and read deeper into our origins as a music blog, you’d have seen this photo of the three of us. This photo was taken shortly before Reid, Lundi and myself walked over for the headliner of day two of the 2019 Osheaga Music & Arts Festival - and what a headliner it was. The visuals. The sounds.
The Chemical Brothers.
Flash forward to present day, and The Brothers are at it once again. For That Beautiful Feeling showcases all of the nuances that separate them from the rest, bringing together elements of the duo’s ‘90’s “big beat” sound from their early albums such as Dig Your Own Hole and the more modern, mainstream stylings of their latest albums such as their 2019 release No Geography. The Brothers ability to bend, twist, and morph seemingly any sound to fit into a coherent dance record has always been awe-inspiring to me - and this experience is no different. True to their methods, the usage of vocal edits, loops and chops are abundant as is their love for using audio effects such as flangers, filters and just about every other technique you would find in the electronica encyclopedia. A textbook that The Brothers undoubtably had a hand in writing themselves.
TB-303 acid house sequencers and various other synthesized hooks are coupled with hyper-compressed breakbeats and infectious bass grooves all across the album with Live Again, No Reason and Fountains especially sticking out among the pack. The Weight has such an old-school Chemical Brothers feel to it that you could swear the record was found in an attic, had the dust blown off it and then was put on this album. Personal standout Goodbye accomplishes what many electronic acts attempt to do and fail, which is to push the limits of where one can go sonically when taking away the restrictions of organic or natural sounds yet still sound musical. Never have I heard the frequency spectrum modulated in such a way that a classic triad chord progression would sound so inorganic, metallic and otherworldly - like an alien race trying to contact earth for the first time. These are the moments that I find mulling over the most, long after the record is turned off.
One major strength that The Brothers have as electronic artists is their ability to break a major faux pas of the genre: making repetitive elements in their track barely sound repetitive at all. Feels Like I Am Dreaming is the epitome of pushing the boundaries of this classic dance music trope, as one singular phrase echoes over its seven minute span yet fails to lose my interest. Background elements come in and out of the arrangement and keep the track ever-engaging, constantly moving from front to back and from left to right. Bellowing synths and a screeching cacophony of sound pull me in further, sounds unquestionably tailor made for the live music, audio-visual experience. Just like that, the album closer mixes in as smooth as a DJ would mix it in live, wrapping the listener back around to the introduction before finishing with a burst of energy and a satisfying cool-off. At this point I just hope that you’ve been wearing some really, really good headphones.
There are very few artists that hold the kind of prestige within the electronic dance music world that The Chemical Brothers have held throughout their long tenure on the scene. From the creation of their very own sub genre of dance in the 1990’s to the more modern oriented dance tracks of the 2000’s, The Brothers have undoubtedly made their mark and have nothing left to prove other than the fact that they love what they do. Old style meets new as The Chemical Brothers bring together the best of both worlds to create a studio album that feels more like a live performance than simply just a record. For That Beautiful Feeling exemplifies the timelessness of The Brothers sound while also showcasing their mastery of electronic music as an art form.
Overall Rating: 8.8/10
Favourite Song: Goodbye
REID
In the year 2023, there are certain artists we’re lucky are still kicking around. The Chemical Brothers fall in this category. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons are in their early 50’s and this review is of their tenth studio album, with their first coming in 1995. They’ve certainly withstood the test of time. Until five years ago, the electronic British duo was a fond MuchMusic and Big Shiny Tunes 2 memory for me. They appeared as a headliner on the Osheaga 2019 lineup so in typical preparation fashion our crew began the pre-listening phase with their new album, No Geography (2019) along with their classics. That summer was one to remember and hits like No Geography and Got To Keep On were staples for the playlist.
That Saturday of Osheaga (August 3, 2019) is a memory me and the boys often discuss. What was preluded as the underwhelming day of the weekend, turned out to be one of the more memorable eight hours of our festival-going experiences. A lineup of Two Feet, Sofi Tucker, FKJ and RUFUS du Sol exceeded expectations, setting the bar for The Chemical Brothers final set. I speak confidently on behalf of three of us in saying that night made permanent fans of the TSR crew. The insane visuals and gripping beats create an absolute spectacle of a performance. If the opportunity presents itself to see them live, do it. With that appreciation intact, it’s exciting to review their latest work.
I had two overwhelming sentiments over the last week listening to For That Beautiful Feeling.
The first was thinking of how giddy this was making Roz. This is his bag and by now you’ve likely already read his thoughts since we post our reviews from highest to lowest rating. The Brothers just ooze talent with an incredibly deep toolkit. Their songs are a never a straight line, venturing off in multiple directions with mystique and intrigue all the while accomplishing the goal of getting you fired up. You never really know what they’re going to pull off and that’s the beauty of it.
The second was the typical comment you get from me on electronic music; how incredible would this be to experience live? TSR has reviewed several albums in this genre and one of the recurring issues has been consistency. Aside from the oddly annoying, Magic Wand, right in the middle of the album, the duo could play this record from start to finish and it would be killer. For a style highlighted by the singles, it’s one of the best compliments you can give.
The Chemical Brothers are still cookin’. For That Beautiful Feeling is a 47-minute dance party filled with a collection of sounds that shouldn’t work but do. Crank up the volume and bop to the unique intricacies and thrilling climaxes created by the thirty-year veterans.
Overall Rating: 8.3/10
Favourite Song: Fountains
LUNDI
Well TSR friends Lundi is a little out of his element this week. No this isn’t the first time TSR has dabbled in the scene of electronic dance music, but the duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, aka The Chemical Brothers, are a mesmerizing outlier. From their big beat music to their mind fuck of a live show, there’s no one quite like them. Icons, trail blazers, pioneers, whatever term you’d like to use, when they drop the needle, you listen.
For That Beautiful Feeling is the Chemical Brothers tenth studio album and it’s filled with the euphoria inducing electronica they built their careers on. The duo’s psychedelic soundscapes are a beautiful collection of the pop, indie, rock, and dance concepts filling today’s airwaves transformed by propulsive beats and sharp bass resulting in a sci-fi like futuristic sound. The Chemical Brothers experimentation and unique output continues to be unmatched nearly 30 years later.
Feeling is a deeply immersive and seamless display of musical skill. Its mix is intelligent and production is captivating. The structure of every track is well thought out with the utmost attention to detail. Bookended by Halo Maud’s robotic vocal on the pleasurable opener Live Again and the haunting closing titular track the simulated journey comes full circle with everything in between feeling like a dream state spectacle. A face melting thrill ride destined for the dance floor.
The album however isn’t without some faults. Perhaps it’s a little on brand for me to critique the EDM world but I did find myself lost in all the wrong ways with the trio of Goodbye (too long and repetitive), Foundations (socially out of place), and The Magic Wand (vocally irritating skip). But even with this slight stumble in the album mid section the strength of the opening and closing acts is so objectively great that any notion that this isn’t a hit album is completely destroyed.
They say the sincerest form of flattery is imitation. 30 years, 10 albums and not a single competitor replicating your skillset? That has to feel pretty damn good too. For That Beautiful Feeling is a vivid colourful joyride that further cements the Chemical Brothers as one of dance music’s greatest ever.
Overall Rating: 8.1/10
Favourite Song: Feels Like I Am Dreaming