Push the Button

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Having marked their 10th anniversary at the top of British dance music with a greatest hits collection, it would be easy to write the Chemical Brothers off in a genre that requires a certain freshness. However, Push the Button is a spectacular jump back to the top of their game, intensified by the rise of dance music in 2005.

First single and opening track, "Galvanize", features Q-tip on vocals. It's a little more downtempo than the brothers of late as they got wrapped up in a need to produce a dancefloor killer to match the heady days of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl"--it's not too different, not too clever, but has enough of the necessary "oomph" to make it an excellent start to the album. In terms of classic sounding tracks, there are "Come Inside" and "The Big Jump", the former a big-beat spectacular and the latter a definite tune to be heard "out", replete with enormous slidey bassline and sticky acid stabs. A standout in a similar vein to "Galvanize" (although possibly better) is "Left Right" featuring Anwar Superstar. It's got a bold hip-hop swagger and politically charged lyrics over a chunky riff that wouldn't sound out of place in a seventies TV cop show. There are only two of the customary chillout tracks (think Beth Orton), there's "Hold tight London", an upbeat soca-styled song that's okay but not nearly as beautiful as sweeping epic "Close Your Eyes" featuring the Magic Numbers.

Closing Push the Button are two more guitar-based tracks, the country-rocking loop of "Marvo Ging" and the brilliant mish-mash of styles that is "Surface to Air", a sort of rapturous amalgam of the brothers' own "Golden Path", the Strokes and festival favourites Dreadzone. A fantastic end to a consistent album that easily outshines its predecessor, Come with Us, and will hopefully herald a great year for electronic music.--David Trueman

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-07-09 rating:
My favourite album by the Chemicals.
With all their other albums, there are always tracks I really like a lot and some I'm not so keen on, but with this one, I like all of it. A good dancey album, from the brilliant "Galvanise" to the end. Stand out track for me is the brilliant hip hop inspired "Left Right". Most tracks have a slightly different feel to them than the rest, even though the upbeat dancey theme seems to run throughout. Great!

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review by: date: 2008-01-21 rating:
Too mainstraim and predictable
In Push The Button, Tom and Ed seem determined to answer the blunt critics of their 2002 album Come With Us with a record that is likely to please lovers of dance music, but not necessarily those that grew up with the creativity of Dig Your Own Hole and Surrender. The tracks which bookend the album, "Galvanize" and "Surface To Air", are brilliant, whilst "Believe" and "Close Your Eyes" remind us that The Chemical Brothers are capable of creating something special. But this album lacks the typical Chemicals' spark and is disappointingly commercial; "Come Inside" and "Shake Break Bounce" get tired after a few listens. "Left Right" is ghastly, and confirms the album's unfocused, incohesive nature, and Tom and Ed's most unsatisfying album since Exit Planet Dust.

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review by: date: 2007-07-30 rating:
My favourite Chem Bros album - the best of the best
It's strange, but I've had this for more than six months and never really played it much. Partly because I'd automatically chose Surrender and partly 'cos I was pissed off with Sony's stupid copy-control junk and it took me a while to work out how to rip for my Archos and make a copy for the car. Finally played it v loud 6 or 7 times repeatedly on a good quality system during a car journey and now I absolutely love it.

I don't understand the unpopularity of Galvanise - I think it's a great opening track & I can only think that you all heard it just too much in the UK as somebody suggested - I live in Germany and it certainly got airplay but not much - German radio has to be the worst in the world - 40 stations all playing the same 20 crap songs.

Anyway, I think the album starts well and just builds and builds beautifully until brilliant Marvo Ging and climactic Surface to Air. This is just awesome on a good system as you soar on the music and then are launched into another orbit by that awesome chord change in Surface to Air. However, I notice as I listen again on a ghetto blaster as I write this, it does lose a lot of its impact - I'm just not getting the same sensations as I got in the car. Just played it again on headphones - much better.

The only weak track is Left Right - it's a good track, but it just doesn't quite fit with the rest of the album.

I've been playing Push the Button this evening to compare with We are the Night which I've just bought. We are the Night is good but is somewhat bitty and inconsistent compared to this fantastic album. It just makes me cheer out loud everytime I hear it.

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review by: abbas_rana date: 2007-07-24 rating:
BLOCK (ALMOST) ROCKING BEATS
The Chemicals' fifth studio album and you have to respect the integrity and passion of the band to spoil us with cutting edge dance albums every two years. However, I'd be lying if I said Push The Button got me excited the way past albums have. Okay, Exit Planet Dust was scarily seductive and it was dangerous for any adolescent to hear it. In summary, Push The Button has some truly great tracks but some fairly ordinary offerings and I feel bad saying that.

Tracks two and three are by far the best and most high-powered tracks on the album. "The Boxer" sees the return on Tim Charlatan and old skool piano breaks propel Tim's classic baggy vocals whilst screeching synths threaten to cut through. "Believe" is infectious and Kele Bloc Party's emotive vocals sit well on this tense dance track. We all know that "Galvanise" is a perfect dance pop tune blazing with the distinct Eastern hook sample.

"Hold Tight London" is fine but I find it hard to keep interested throughout the track, as the subtle house beats playing under whiny vocals are too subtle for me. "Come Inside" gets better with each listen and the carnival metallic beats are more noticeable each time - definitely high energy. "The Big Jump" is catchy and pleasant enough but not really classic Chemical Brothers.

I'd rather not review "Left Right" as I've tried to keep away from mediocre rap music; there isn't much Chemical Brothers on this track. Things get better with "Close Your Eyes" and Magic Numbers provide great lyrics on this slow and melodic neo-psychedelic track. "Shake Break Bounce" is fairly `listenable' but you wouldn't write home about it. Marvo Ging sounds similar to the Orbital's "Waving Not Drowning" off The Altogether and I didn't like that track much.

The finale "Surface To Air" is mid-energy dance that threatens to get big and epic on us but falls short. It's not their best record and the first third of the album is much better than the last third. Worth a spin.



review by: date: 2007-06-25 rating:
just isnt them
track 1 is the only decent track realy. the rest of album just lacks sunstance. i lost interest after a few days, i played it non stop to try and find something i liked.........but no use.

i think the album was very rushed, and is terribly over rated

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