Image by Wilson X via FlickrThe first in my Archive Review series (where I go back and re-acquaint myself with some old favourites) is 1995's Exit Planet Dust by The Chemical Brothers.Landing in the summer of '95 The Chemical Brothers' debut kick-started the big beat movement and became a sanctuary of from the Camdencentric Britpop battles that raged through chart and media.
Duo Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands concocted an album of flowing beat, blips and samples that progressed the Madchester scene's heady mix of dance and guitar music and set the standard for electronica throughout the rest of the 1990s and beyond. Here they throw in rhythms from hip-hop, tribal and trance, acid house and funky breaks; lift and drop the mood like a three-day drugs bender; shoved a glo-stick at every person donning a Fred Perry and a guitar.
Schizophrenic in collection as well as tempo this album should sound a lot more dated than it does a decade and a half on. Sure it isn't as big or bombastic as their subsequent offerings, but as often as it fades into the background it provides an epic everyone-to-the-floor beat drop as a counterpoint.
The enduring moments for me are the songs with guest vocals added - the still sublime 'Life Is Sweet' featuring The Charlatans' Tim Burgess and album closer 'Alive Alone' featuring Beth Orton.
The former further pushing the boundary blurring between band and beats with a bouncing dirty undertow dragging the drawling fuzz of a vocal in and out of focus, rolling with the punches as they drop. Both guest vocal tracks were nods to the Britpop party crowd surrounding the DJing duo and the collaborations that would follow in the future (including their first number one in 1996 - Setting Sun featuring Noel Gallagher).
An album which was both out of step and yet became of it's time, which has stayed sounding fresh while also being a prototype for the genre it spawned.
If you liked this album you could try: Fat Boy Slim You've Come A Long Way, Baby (and I'd suggest his mix On The Floor At The Big Beat Boutique); Lo-Fidelity Allstars How To Operate With A Blown Mind; and The Prodigy Fat of the Land. If you really really really like this stuff you could go as far as to try Bentley Rhythm Ace's eponymous album...but try the other stuff first.
The next installment of Archive Review will be re-visting Biffy Clyro's 2002 debut Blackened Sky. Let me know your ideas for albums to take another gander at by dropping me a note in the comments section.
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