By The Chemical Brothers, 2007

UK reissue of this 2007 album featuring new artwork (replaced because of 'legal reasons'). On We Are The Night, their sixth studio album, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons demonstrate that when it comes to supreme beat-based innovation, inspired collaborations and sheer sonic excellence, the two are unsurpassable. We Are The Night displays a myriad of sounds, rhythms and emotions along with an astounding roster of featured artists.

This griping body of work slips between something simply fun like 'The Salmon Dance' (featuring Fatlip of Pharcyde) to haunting tracks like 'Battle Scars' sung by Willy Mason. The album would not be complete without a few signature dance anthems including 'We Are The Night', 'Burst Generator' and 'Do It Again'. Other additional featured artists that appear on the album include the very hot Klaxons, Midlake and Ali Love.

EMI. 2008.One can never accuse the Chemical Brothers of consistency. We Are the Night continues their eclectic electronica approach even though the big-beat groove of the title track remains their digital calling card.

Spotted with a minimalist keyboard pattern, vocal non sequiturs, and sampled sound effects, the infectious groove of "We Are the Night" eventually evolves into the monotone-chanted dance chorus of "We are the night skies/We are the bright lies," recalling Brian Eno circa Here Come the Warm Jets. However, for every catchy electro-dance, there's a tune that leaves you scratching your head. What to make of the novelty song "The Salmon Dance" is anybody's guess, though you might find some illumination in a salmon recipe on their Web site.

With fractured nursery-rhyme lyrics that are sung like an off-color Sesame Street rap, it will drive you up the wall--or at least toward the skip button. Then there's Midlake singing the trancey ballad "The Pills Won't Help You Now," making the Chemical Brothers sound like a sci-fi version of Coldplay. Retro-analog synthesizers dominate, with the electro-grooves of "Das Spiegel," "Burst Generator," and "Saturate," which builds on a Kraftwerk-forged metal framework coupled with storming sampled drums.

The circuits of '70s techno-pop artist the Normal are re-soldered on "Do It Again." With Ali Love singing the title-track chorus, it's built to be a summertime anthem akin to Tag Team's "Whoomp!(There It Is)," albeit robotically chilled. --John Diliberto

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