The Chemical Brothers - Surrender

Surrender kicks off with a nervous, vibrating whine that brings to mind the first three seconds of Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." But it's just a tease; on their third album, techno's Chemical Brothers have all but turned their back on the rock muscle that earned 1997's Dig Your Own Hole gold status in the U.S. Oh, there are guest rock vocalists galore--New Order's Bernard Sumner, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and Oasis's Noel Gallagher--but only the latter brings out the crunching big beats that the Chems all but invented. The rest of Surrender hews closer to the thinner, synthesized textures of the electro revival that's swept the dance-music world. Much of the time that's just swell. The leadoff track, "Music: Response," is a seamless trip back to 1985, complete with vocoderized singing and Morse-code beeps. And Sumner's "Out of Control" replicates the thrill of hearing the gloomy Joy Division morph into a swell synthpop band. But without the propulsion that their trademark aggression usually provides, the Chems just barely come up with enough ideas to carry the listener all the way through an album, much less rock a dance floor for an hour at a time. --Jeff Salamon Amazon.com

You People Are Crazy

This album is a classic. It gets a little uneven toward the end, but not even as badly as their others, especially the overrated Dig You Own Hole. This is the best, most original they ever sounded. Followed by the hugely underrated Come with Us, these two albums make a case for the Chems as one of the best dance acts ever. Forget your Joy Division. Turn on the lights and enjoy. September 17, 2008

A successful change of pace

I actually rate this as a 4-and-a-bit star album but rounded it up to 5 to redress the generally average reviews it's received over the years. While I enjoy reading the music press, sometimes they get it plain wrong; such, I feel, is the case with 'Surrender'. Many reviews have unfavourably compared it with the Chems' previous album 'Dig Your Own Hole', claiming 'Surrender' to be a flat and/or repetitive follow-up. In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth.

'Dig Your Own Hole' sits at the hard-edged pioneering end of big beat, relying on riff and huge rhythm to drive the tracks home; it's a fine album if that is what you are seeking. 'Surrender' is a TOTALLY different beast; it's more of a house/chill album and a far more painterly affair than its generally monchromatic predecessor.

On 'Surrender', the Chems focus more on sonic adventure and melodic texture than on big beat. This lends it a greater variety of atmosphere, and whilst it is not uniformly excellent and does run slightly out of puff towards the end it is still a rich and rewarding listen, with a greater variety of styles than any of their other releases. Consider the singles culled from it - 'Music:Response', 'Out Of Control', 'Let Forever Be' and 'Hey Boy Hey Girl'; add memorable tracks such as 'Influence', 'Got Glint' and my all-time favourite Chems track 'The Sunshine Underground' and you've got an album for many moods and occasions, more so than on any of their other releases, fine though they are. Sure, it has some lesser tracks but they help rather than hinder; I can play it before I go out or after I come home, or Tuesday night, Sunday afternoon, whenever. It sits at the poppier end of electronica, and is definitely recommended for those who like an album to take them somewhere and are happy to enjoy the ride. August 29, 2006

Liking something because it fits your genre is limiting your brain.

So if hip hop is your thing do you like bad hip hop? Or trance? or anything?

Using your brain is much better. Find the BEST IN ANY GENRE and it will be interesting. Metal, punk, jazz even C&W. Much better than the worst of your chosen genre.

Now about this recording. I have thousands of CDs. Most of the trance or hip hop goes into the oval file if you ask me. Most of it is hardly worth listening too it's all so similar.

3.5 stars. Good. Nice to listen to. Not ground shaking but I have to say these guys are into sound - not the stupid rules of the genre. That's what makes this interesting. Instead of a weak copy of other peoples music I can tell these guys are really into listening and doing something different. Pretty rare in this genre area. So buy if you are adventurous. Avoid if you're mind is in a genre tunnel.

And if you are wondering where this music came from all the better. Progenitors are always better than followers. Find the progenitors music and it will be rougher but more interesting. I'll take creativity and adventure over polish any day. These guys had something to do with inventing this music but they've moved on to other areas because they have searching minds: Klaus Schulze, Psycik TV, Eno, Terry Riley, Le Monte Young, Steve Reich, Jon Hassell, Kluster, Ashra Temple. July 29, 2005

My First Chemical Brothers Album

I just bought this one out of curiosity - I'd heard a lot of positive publicity , plus the sample of 'Block Rockin' Beats'. The songs reflect the use of varied beats,which is why they're called 'The Beatmasters'. My favourite was 'Got Glint?'. Haven't heard another song like it till date. Highly recommended! June 4, 2005

The Chemical Brothers Best Album! Vastly underrated.

I don't understand why this album gets panned by critics and fans of the Chemical Brothers. In my opinion this is their best CD. So many styles of music were explored here with many having their roots in other genres (shoegaze, house, acid, trance). Overall this is a much more varied album than both Exit Planet Dust and Dig Your Own Hole combined. I was tired of those two albums years and years ago but this one still gets played by me amazingly often.

Favorite tracks: Asleep From Day, The Sunshine Underground, Racing The Tide, Dream On May 9, 2005

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