The Chemical Brothers – Surrender

Thought I might as well throw in my input on the album, and after a thorough listening, I think this album's a pretty mixed bag.

The album opens with 'Music: Response', a solid chemical brothers track if there ever was one. A whole album like this would be five stars from me, and following it there are signs this trend will continue. 'Under the Influence' is another good one, a very bassy tune featured in Wip3out (as chosen by Sasha), although I felt it to be a poor choice considering Hey Boy Hey Girl was also on the table, but we'll get to that. Following it is 'Out of Control', which reminds me a little of 'Open Up' by Leftfield, which any 90s raver would know is a good review in itself.

After this I feel the album derails rather quickly. 'Orange Wedge' and 'Let Forever Be' are a bit too rocky for me, and 'Orange Wedge' just feels more like an interlude than an actual track. Both are also rather repetitive and don't really go anywhere. 'The Sunshine Underground' is... alright. I like it, it's got a cool vibe to it, but listening to all 9 minutes of it gets a little boring. 'Asleep From Day' is another interlude that goes nowhere and is absolutely the worst track on the album. 'Got Glint?' is again pretty boring and repetitive for 5 and a half minutes, but once it finally closes, it segues into the final, and greatest part of the album.

The final side opens boldly with the undoubtedly heaviest track on the album, 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', which can still destroy dancefloors 25 years on. A pioneering techno track if there ever was one, and so enjoyed success in the charts. Upon modding a copy of Wipeout 2097 to replace the music (which is partly good but I had better ideas) with my own, this included, I find the track sits very comfortably at 254 mph! Following this is my favourite track on the album, 'Surrender'. Again, it's pure chemical brothers goodness, and while it's not heavy or got a 4/4 drum beat, still kicks ass. I can't really place what makes the track great, whether it's the broken drums, the sitar (I think, don't ask me) or the clever way it's all put together, it makes for a proper track. The album closes in a pretty 90s fashion with 'Dream On', which is just inches away from being a Britpop song. Once again, it's nowhere near the dancefloor highs of 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', but it still works great. And to truly close it, it fades back in after closing creating a mini-hidden track, similar to the ending of 'Strawberry Fields Forever'.

In the end, I think this album is an alright Chemical Brothers album, with its own highs and lows. If it does find its way into my CD player, I'll usually start from 'Hey Boy Hey Girl', loop back around to the start, and take it out by 'Orange Wedge'. If you like those tracks in the middle, good for you. As for me, I don't. I'll leave this with a rather generous 4 stars.