I don't know what I was expecting. From an album titled 'Brand New Machine', I expected the same Chase & Status and that's nowhere close to what they gave.
And honestly, the first listen through, I really didn't care for the album. At all. It sounded way too much like all these featured artists took over creative control and used C&S for their rhythm, drums and synths. Out of 14 tracks, three did not have featured artists - which is actually a better ratio than 'No More Idols', with 15 tracks and two without featured artists.
Then I decided to check out reviews from others - and there are some really mixed reviews.
opening track on Brand New Machine's a killer, goes downhill from there.
— Rick V (@RickVoropayev) October 7, 2013
Brand new machine is good but nothing will ever beat no more idols #chaseandstatus
— megan (@MeganGe) October 7, 2013
@chaseandstatus new album 'brand new machine' is a possible album of the year recommend everyone check it out ! Amazing!
— Caolan Cartin (@itsbassmilk) October 7, 2013
So I decided to give it another shot.
And you know, it's not terrible. There's less drum and bass flavor, and way more down tempo with a very strong hip-hop feel - especially the tracks with Major Lazer and Pusha T. The final track - Alive - still leaves me with a good feeling though, that Chase & Status haven't lost their ability to make quality drum and bass, they've just decided to go in a different direction. And that's something I'm gonna have to deal with.
Overall, less energy and drum 'n' bass do not a bad album make. I'm interested to see how this album plays out during their live shows - whether they can still get a crowd raging or if there will be lighters in the air, people swaying and holding hands.
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