We Are The Night
by The Chemical Brothers

Album details

US: 17 July 2007 on Astralwerks
UK: 2 July 2007 on Virgin

The veteran dance act’s sixth studio album finds the duo joined by Fatlip, Ali Love, Willy Mason, and members of Midlake and The Klaxons. It topped the UK album charts in its first week of release.

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The critical consensus

The issue at hand: With bands influenced by the Chems making interesting music these days, could the duo regain the relevance and top form of their earlier albums, or would WATN be another hit-and-miss affair like more recent efforts and pale in comparison to the work of their followers?

The critics were pretty much evenly split on that question, and while no one felt the disc was terrible, nobody heard a classic, either. In the positive camp, the Observer calls the album "the most exquisitely integrated single listening experience" in the group’s history, while Harp not only agrees, they suggest that "yet again they have surpassed themselves." EW hears "a welcome return to form," while The Guardian declares WATN "their most brilliant work since 1999’s Surrender." Alternative Press lauds the duo for remaining "committed to pushing electronica in ambitious new directions," while PopMatters similarly finds it "a brave, occasionally faltering but massively enjoyable lunge in new directions." And Mojo concludes that "the only thing this album lacks is a brash, blazing dancefloor hit" like "Galvanize."

Drowned In Sound ranks WATN in the middle of all Chemical Brothers output, taking consolation that it "isn’t as bad" as its two predecessors. Chart Attack finds some of the tunes "dated," while both The Stranger and Slant hear retreads of previous (and better) Chemical Brothers songs, and Amazon notes that "for every catchy electro-dance [track], there’s a tune that leaves you scratching your head." Although Now discounts the contributions of Midlake and Fatlip (many critics hated the latter’s "Salmon Dance," by the way), NME finds salvation in the guests, who save the disc from "sounding like it’s still stuck in the mid-’90s." Other critics were split on whether the collaborators were a net pro or con.

The BBC enjoys the final three tracks but otherwise finds the album "something of an embarrassment for a pair that were masters of their art." Dotmusic argues that the Chems have been eclipsed by their followers: "Exactly what is so exciting about electronic music right now - the thrill of microscopically detailed sound worlds that shift and glide to wring the greatest impact from the slightest change - is what is so glaringly absent." Metromix calls it "a big step backwards," the Boston Globe labels it "stagnant," and Pitchfork is even more negative, not only declaring that the group "have switched from integrators to imitators" but also that "not even the low points on Push the Button suggested they were about to tank this hard."

So while you may know what you’re getting with a Chemical Brothers album, they remain damn good at what they do.

- MusicOMH

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. No Path To Follow
2. We Are The Night
3. All Rights Reversed
4. Saturate
5. Do It Again
   
   
6. Das Spiegal
7. The Salmon Dance
8. Burst Generator
9. A Modern Midnight Conversation
10. Battle Scars
11. Harpoons
12. The Pills Won’t Help You Now

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• The Chemical Brothers @ MySpace