Rating: NNNN
Pop/Rock
CHEMICAL BROTHERS Come With Us (Virgin) Rating: NNNNStriking a balance between pounding club cuts and more song-based electronic pop tunes has become something of an obsession for the Chemical Brothers. It would be a stretch to call Come With Us (out Tuesday) a return to the clubs for the Manchester duo, but these 10 tracks do have a certain economy. Outside of a dreamy collaboration with Beth Orton, Come With Us is dominated by some of the Chemicals’ most dance-floor-friendly beats in ages. Of course, it’s all relative, with straight-ahead four-four thumpers like Star Guitar built around a pop framework and the dub electro of Hoops incorporating folk guitar and a sing-along chorus. Where the duo’s pop smarts are missed is on the sprawling closer The Test, featuring an apocalyptic rant by Richard Ashcroft. The track is better produced than anything on Ashcroft’s solo album but lacks the anthemic quality of the Chemicals’ past collaborations with Noel Gallagher, somehow making eight minutes seem like an eternity. MATT GALLOWAY
