In 2003, the Chemical Brothers celebrated a decade in the business by compiling most of their A-Sides onto a single-disc. Chronologically arranged-- and packaged with a second disc of B-sides, alternate mixes, rarities, and the fantastic non-LP single "Loops of Fury"-- Singles 93-03 provided a one-stop reminder that this was a dynamite duo in the 1990s, and, well, still a duo in the 2000s. Now Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons return with another compilation, Brotherhood, that leans heavily on the same set of songs gathered half a decade ago: Nine of the 13 songs from Singles are repeated here, with six songs recorded over the past five years-- including a pair of new tracks-- taking the place of "The Test" and "Get Yourself High" (hooray!) and "Song to the Siren" and "The Private Psychedelic Reel" (boo!).
The questions that spring to mind are: Why this and why now? There aren't any easy answers. Anyone looking to be reminded that the Chemical Brothers amassed a vital body of work throughout their career has not only a strong trio of proper albums to reference but also that last Singles collection. Newer fans who've gravitated to the group by way of their recent collaborations with Q-Tip ("Galvanise") or Bloc Party's Kele Okereke ("Believe") ostensibly already own those recordings and, rather than re-purchase them alongside other tracks, would still do better with the earlier Singles collection. (Or Exit Planet Dust. Or Dig Your Own Hole. Or Surrender.)
That said, there are two arguments that could be made in favor of this collection over Singles: This new record is a more favorable look at the 00s Chemical Brothers than its predecessor, and its 2xCD version features a better bonus disc than the 2003 model.
Of the quartet of songs from this decade on Singles, only "Star Guitar" (a fantastic track I grossly underrated here at the time) wasn't a collaboration. Not coincidentally, it's also by far the best of the four. Despite the surprisingly solid "Believe", most of the Chems' best work this decade has resulted from abandoning their revolving door of guests. While it was nice to find them expanding beyond their early LP guest-star template-- messianic Northern English rock guy, American psych-rock artist, Beth Orton-- other partnerships both largely failed and took up an increasingly large amount of space on their records.
Where they once melded pop and art into rolling, blissful tracks or urgent combinations of sub-bass and Bomb Squad-like beats, throughout this decade the Chems have increasingly and disappointingly cordoned off their pop from their art, with the former reflected in mostly awkward stabs at the UK charts and the latter finding them continuing the acid/trance-infused work they started on Surrender. The much-missed "My Elastic Eye" aside, songs like "Star Guitar" and "Saturate" successfully gather the best of the group's work this decade. Another boost comes with the new track "Midnight Madness" and a Spank Rock collaboration, "Keep My Composure"-- the best Chems/MC pairing to date.
But the real highlight here-- and the reason for longtime fans to even flirt with buying this-- is the gathering of the group's 10 "Electonic Battle Weapon" sides, a series of dancefloor test pressings. Of the 10 tracks, all but one wound up officially released in some capacity. Individually, these cuts are more curiosity than quality, but collectively, the series fills in an important and engaging chapter in the Chemical Brothers' history, and functions as more than scattered odds and ends. As expected, they're on the whole more track-y and dancefloor-oriented, but again, considering the duo has always shown more acumen for extended instrumental work than concise chart thrills, that's a plus.
Five years ago, while reviewing Singles, I concluded that "For more than 10 years, the Chemical Brothers have been one of the most vibrant post-acid house artists in the UK, but the only clear reason for their fans to plump for this disc are located on the now-requisite limited-edition bonus disc." And while Brotherhood is a well-sequenced listen-- and one that, in "Star Guitar", "Saturate", and "Keep My Composure", highlights a few lesser gems-- that's even truer today.
