The Chemical Brothers - No Geography


The Chemical Brothers
No Geography
2019
Spotify

After eight albums it seems like The Chemical Brothers are ready to let it loose and celebrate. After trying their hand at damn near any genre they could put through their classic rave filter they have decided to cut out the pretension and make some that we can fucking bang to. No Geography sets the tone early with "Eve of Destruction" a weird acid rock inspired jam that throws in some crowd noise during the bridge just to remind you what this music is for. The album flows together like an expert DJ set because well, look who it's coming from. It makes for a seamless experience that bangs throughout but has plenty of light moments as well. "Got To Keep On" feels like a Daft Punk placeholder until they actually decide to come out with anything new. The two Electronic legends were making EDM long before it was even a thing and their skills have only gotten better as time has gone on. The Chemical Brothers are at their best when they aren't going dark, something they have leaned on in their recent releases. Disco was damn near absent from their previous releases, but here it seems to create a through line for everything, leaving no dance stone left unturned. They can also bounce almost seamlessly between a straight up dance groove into something more slippery and less grounded. "Gravity Drops" is one of those tracks where through synth exploration they find a banging groove. I love how The Chemicals Brothers can begin a song with seemingly disparate noise, but then manages to bring it all around into this cohesive wonderful sound.

"The Universe Sent Me" is the first time we get full vocals and they are haunting as all hell. Big echoes streaming in and out are finally culminated with a big fucking techno drop. The later half of the album is where they tend to be a bit more experimenting, but it still manages to keep in mind that a beat needs to be on the floor. The rave is everywhere on "Free Yourself" allowing the techno to just take over. The album as a whole is just a dleight from start to finish. It doesn't change the game, but at this point in their career they don't need to. It's much more of a victory lap than any of their other albums which feels just right. Throw this on and be prepared to descend into a world of madness and dance, you won't regret it. 

8.5 out of 10

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