Further

Rolling Stone (p.82) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "FURTHER manages to be both pretty and hard-grooving: 'Snow' sets sweetly melodic murmurs over gently billowing synths..." Spin - "[With] steadfastly chirping crescendos, whinnying breakbeat stampedes, and the odd evocative vocal." Uncut (p.103) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "FURTHER's sense of volume and scale is awe-inspiring..." Alternative Press (p.123) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Its eight tracks swirl miniature psych-rock symphonies over an unvarying, hypnotic pulse, using texture and dynamics to create ebb and flow." Billboard (p.33) - "Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons lead with the pictures, developing each of the set's eight tracks with a mini-movie in mind." Mojo (Publisher) (p.93) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is The Chemical Brothers at their crowd-pleasing, raucous best." Paste (magazine) - "The Brothers sincerely want you to dance, and they spend FURTHER's 50 minutes creating alternately spacey and vicious electronic sketches." Pitchfork (Website) - "[A]n album-length suite of warm, gooey utopianism, one that never smashes you over the head with obvious hooks or high-concept floor-fillers. It's a slow, patient piece of work, all vibe and no frenzy."

Further is the first Chemical Brothers album without a guest vocalist since their debut. Consequently, with no worries about crafting tracks around a Q-Tip or a Richard Ashcroft, the duo has full freedom to focus on enveloping listeners in the sound world usually just experienced at shows -- although, naturally, without the lights and atmosphere to accompany the music. After a beatless first track titled "Snow," the 12-minute single "Escape Velocity" approximates a rocket launch, the impressive effects continually rising over the first few minutes until the beat kicks in with full force. The effects and distortion would do Kevin Shields or Sonic Boom proud, while the lockstep beats, when they do come in, are practically an anticlimax. From there, Ed and Tom go in differing directions, none better than "Another World," an appropriately otherworldly and shimmering throwback to the '80s capable of provoking jealousy in chillwave maestros like Neon Indian and Washed Out. ~ John Bush

ノーマン・クックにしろプロディジーにしろ、＜90年代らしさ＞を体現してきたスタジアム・ダンス系の大物たちは相変わらず元気だが、ケミカル兄弟もこの3年ぶりの新作で回春しまくっている様子。客演ナシなのも潔いし、昨今のネオ・サイケ・バンドからの刺激を反映して、陶酔を煽るプログレ～シューゲイズ路線へと深化したサウンドが格好良い。いわゆるビートルズ的なサイケ感も”Dissolve”などに健在なのでご安心を。
bounce (C)高橋玲子