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Every road trip needs a good soundtrack—something to make the miles fly by. So as I packed up my car and prepared for the seven-plus-hour drive to Toronto for the film festival, I was sure to pack Brotherhood, the new best-of album by The Chemical Brothers. And throughout the long, monotonous drive, it was The Chemical Brothers and their driving electronic beats that kept me going.
The Chemical Brothers (a.k.a. Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands) started out in the early ‘90s as DJs in Manchester. Tired of the same old music, they started creating their own tracks—and, in 1995, they released their first album, Exit Planet Dust. Before long, along with a few others (like American counterparts The Crystal Method), they brought electronic music out of the clubs and into the mainstream (meanwhile, in a small town in Michigan, I danced to it all night and listened to it at work all day).
Now, more than a decade later, Simons and Rowlands are still experimenting with electronic, hip-hop, techno, and even industrial sounds—and you’ll hear their music in everything from TV commercials to software tradeshows.
For both the uninitiated and the old faithful fan, Brotherhood is a great condensed Chemical Brothers collection—and it couldn’t have started any stronger. It opens with the heavy-hitting Grammy-winning single, “Galvanize”—and the pace rarely slows down (except during a few rather hypnotic moments somewhere in the middle) throughout the whole 15-track album. Though it’s filled with somewhat repetitive dance music, each track offers something different—and it’s never so repetitive that it feels boring or overdone.
While newcomers will find plenty to love on the album, fans are sure to find all (or at least most) of their favorite singles here. In addition to “Galvanize,” it includes “Believe” from Push the Button, “Out of Control,” “Let Forever Be,” and “Hey Boy Hey Girl” from Surrender, and even “Leave Home” from Exit Planet Dust. Also included on the disc are a number of club tracks (from their Electronic Battle Weapon series) and one new track, “Keep My Composure,” featuring Spank Rock.
Brotherhood is a go-anywhere kind of album. While it’s an album full of high-energy club favorites, they’re songs that work just as well outside the club. If you need some help getting started in the morning, Brotherhood is every bit as effective as your morning cup of coffee (though, personally, I recommend both, simultaneously). It’ll keep you going while you’re doing chores around the house. And if you’ve got a long road trip ahead of you, it’s sure to make the miles fly by (though be careful—the album’s high energy might make the miles fly by a bit too quickly).
