Customer Reviews

We Are the Night

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I love the Chemical Brothers. As an electronic musician and dj, the Chems are my favorite artist and my biggest influence.

My favorite work of theirs is actually their DJ mix, "Brother's Gonna Work It Out." Just awesome.

I didn't really like their last album, "Push the Button." It was just ok. I didn't play any of the songs from that album in my dj sets(although I did play "Rise Up" which was a b-side to "Galvanize").

I've never loved any of their albums though. I've just thought that certain songs on their albums were mind blowing. The albums usually don't have a very danceable flow to them.

This one does.

"Do It Again" makes a ton more sense now that I've heard it within the context of the album. The sung vocals were questionable to me when I heard this as a single, but after hearing the album, I think it's brilliant.


Songs like "All Right's Reversed" and "The Pills Won't Help You Now" have legendary written all over them.


For the record, I think the "Salmon Dance" is wicked dancefloor material. The funkiest Chemical Brothers track ever. BUT I find it to be the lone mis-step on this album. Clearly it should have been a single; it stick's out of this album like a sore thumb and takes away from the flow.

Even though this album is a bit less in your face than the earlier stuff, it is truly relevant to the current state of electronic music. Although it draws heavy influence from the minimal house/berlin techno scene and the nu-rave scene it manages to transcend all of that.

They make some odd-ball decisions and push songs in really strange directions, all the while keeping their familiar sound pallette. Masterful stuff.

If you want the old (and still great) block rockin' Chemical Brothers, then this is probably not the album for you. But if you want to hear cutting edge dance music, this is it.

Currently my favorite electronic music album. Period.


-The Beat Counselor

[...]

I have all of the chemical brother cd's, and this one is probably my favorite. Usually their songs are hit and miss on any given album, with this one I genuinely enjoy every track and don't have to hit skip at all. It's not the usual chem type, but it still has the base that is their signature sound. The first time that I heard it I wasn't exactly overwhelmed, but the more I listen to it the more that I like it. It is perfect "commute" music.

This is the best Chemical Lp to date! All the naysayers need to listen again. The best most danceable, listenable, psychedelic Chems record in quite some time, and I really find it to be the best yet. They "Do It Again" With the aforementined track (my favorite to dance to), "Das Speigel", "Battle Scars", and my personal fave "A Modern midnight Conversation. Shame on you not knowers and unbelievers; if "Burst Generator" doen't make you want to destroy your chair and freak all over the room in techno giddy-ness then you need to check your head and your feet. What a dope track! This is modern psychedlic music at its finest, and will almost top my best of for the year. What an amazing live show they did in Manhattan in support of the LP!

Well, what could i really say? The Chemical Brothers never cease to amaze me. The duo always seem to be going down different avenues with their music. They're extremely innovating. I wont waste your time, there are plenty of reviews to read. If you like Push The Button, then you'll probably like this album.
Also, i happen to enjoy that groovy tune The Salmon Dance. I read a couple of the other reviews and i dont understand whats so bad about this song. Dont bash it just because it doesn't sound like their previous work.
Im not sure how anyone could possibly call their music redundant. Their beats are constantly changing, and thats more than i can say for the rest of the techno genre.
I recommend this album, but the only way you'll know is if you hear it yourself. Hope you enjoy

English dance/electronica duo Chemical Brothers are back with their best album yet. "We are the night" has already topped the UK album charts, and though more accessible than much of their past work, it is still edgy and avant-garde.

After a brief intro "No path to follow", we get a stomping number with swirling synths, the title track, largely instrumental apart from vocodered voices proclaiming "We are the night" (and a few other things) every so often.

The haunting, pulsing "All rights reversed" features The Klaxons on vocals, and is followed by the excellent throbbing techno instrumental "Saturate", one of my favourites.

Lead off single, the hypnotic drone of "Do it again" featuring Ali Love is already a UK top 20 hit. This song just keeps getting better each time I hear it. "Das Spiegel" is an effects laden instrumental that sounds like a journey through space. "The salmon dance" featuring Fatlip is a funky number with humorous spoken lyrics describing a salmon dance step, alongside a narrative on the salmon's breeding habits.

"Burst generator" is another superb instrumental with raging guitars set to a stomping beat. "A modern midnight conversation" is a lovely groovy largely instrumental piece with a chorus sung in falsetto. "Battle scars" (featuring Willy Mason) wouldn't be amiss on a Gorillaz album.

"Harpoons" is a warbling psychedelic percussion free instrumental, and closing is the album's lone ballad, the dreamy, trippy "The Pills Won't Help You Know" (featuring Midlake) which is simply lovely.

Definitely up there with LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of silver" and Groove Armada's "Soundboy rock" as best dance CD of the year.

On their 6th studio album (not counting the singles release), The Chems rope in another roster of interesting guests and with their help, they nudge We Are the Night into a slightly "above average" electronic record. But just slightly. The lead single (Do It Again) which was, in my opinion, very premature to the album's street date, did little to peak interest (here in the states) in We Are the Night. Most critics and fans, including yours truely, found it good but very so-so, and gave it likewise reviews. Upon hearing the rest of the album, it's clear why Do It Again was the lead single... it's simply one of the better songs found on We Are the Night.

The collaborations are king here. The interesting guests they roped in, deliver some of the better tracks on We Are the Night, they also represent some of the worst as well. The best of which has to be the chaotic pounding beat of All Rights Reversed, it features the uber-talented Klaxons and their brand of indie rave-rock. This amazing tune will definitely go down as one of the better things the Chems have ever put out, and this is mostly because of the Klaxons imput. I rank it right there with Setting Sun (featuring Noel Gallagher) and Out of Control (featuring Bernard Summer) expect a single in the near future. Another zinger is the albums closer, a chilled out stunner titled, The Pills Won't Help You Now. It features Tim Smith from Midlake (another great band) and reminds me of other more shoegaze fare (Mercury Rev and Beth Orton collaborations) of past albums. Now once we've moved past the Klaxons and Midlake contributions is were the record gets kinda dicey. The song The Salmon Dance, could be the worst thing they've done. Featuring a terribly childish rap from Fatlip, it's a song better suited for an r-rated kids show than a Chemical Brothers record. The song is so bad you will jumping to press the skip button for sure. If you make past that, then you are left with some very mediocre songs inbetwen the collaborations. Saturate (track 4) ends up being pretty darn good set up for Do It Again, while Das Spiegel sounds like a spacey Orbital copy (Middle of Nowhere era), Harpoons is a boring filler track, and Burst Generator fails to burst into anything that exciting.

In the end, We Are the Night is a very spotty record. An ep containing All Rights Reversed, Saturate, Do It Again, and The Pills... would have made an all around better release. As long as Tom and Ed continue to keep their friends in the studio, we can look forward to some nice joint ventures under the Chemicals moniker in the years to come. We Are the Night has just enough good collaborations make it decent, but its a far cry from the Block Rockin Beats of years past.

I love this album. I didn't like it at first. I was a little leary. I at first. The sounds were unlike I have ever heard from the Brothers before. I loved a lot of the older albums and going from them to this...it was a little weird. I listened to it at work a lot and over time I really grew to love it. If you are a Chemical Brothers fan I think you will enjoy it at least to some level worth purchasing it. If you aren't a fan you might just listen to it somewhere before purchasing. I was happy purchasing it. If you are a Chemical Brothers fan, you well know that their work is a bit different from anything else in the same genre. You already know to expect the unexpected and accept it and love it.

The Chemical Brothers' last album Push the Button was more mainstream than previous efforts (even more so than Dig Your Own Hole), but it still turned out to be the best album they ever recorded. And it's hard to measure up to that, but We Are the Night does a good job trying.

With this album, the brothers mostly went back to more techno-inspired rhythms. There are more "instrumentals" this time around, but they still impress, like "Saturate" and "Harpoons". But my favorite songs in that vein would have to be "Burst Generator" and "Das Spiegel". And when the brothers DO add vocals, they continue to impress, as evidenced by the dark but good closing track, "The Pills Won't Help You Now".

Speaking of that, though, to say that the Fatlip-assisted "The Salmon Dance" is strange would be an understatement. Oh, well; We Are the Night might not be as appealing to the non-clubgoers as the Chemical Brothers' previous efforts, but it's still a danceable offering worth adding to your collection.

Anthony Rupert

Upon first listen, I thought I had wasted my money. Im glad I listened a few more times. The title track is among the Chems best. The bass/drum groove is powerful and infectious. The way the male and female voices are mixed at the end is almost magical. The male voices sound almost robotic, while the female voices sound angelic. Perhaps we are to hear the mechanical nature of mankind battling the spiritual nature? I dunno...maybe Im just somewaht permanantly stoned.

Das Spiegel is another highlight for me. It reminds me of the track "Surrender" in a way. Its a joyous track to listen to. With a funky beat under a giddy keyboard track, its a track that I often hit the repeat button on.
Im one of the weird ones who actually likes "The Salmon Dance". Many hip hop artists are pushing silly one hit dances in the club now, and I think the Chems are actually poking a little fun at that whole scene. So in that light, I kind of appreciate the song.
Other highlights are the thick bass of "Saturate", the upbeat vocals of "Modern Midnight Conversation", and the somber yet cathartic closing of "The Pills Wont Help You Now".

Im glad I gave this disc another chance. I believe the Chems have demonstrated yet again they can reach beyond the club and actually present us with a piece of art. Now, I cant stop listening to it.

Apart from Track 2 this collection lacks the energy found on their previous release Push The Button. I was also a little disappointed in the creativity as well as they don't seem to cover as much new ground here as they usually do. Good but doesn't quite reach their typically high standards.