The Chemical Brothers "Galvanize"

[jaxxalude]

www1.allaccess.com/sounds/chemgalv.ram

#83 Alternative (10+ bullet), #218 Active Rock (3+). It's from their upcoming fifth album, "Push The Button", to be released in the US January 25th (one day after its Euro release). The song (which features Q-Tip of the recently reformed hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest) also goes for adds the same day.

Personally, I really like the song, and the album is proof that, even after twelve years of recordings, you can still maintain some freshness in your music, especially in such a prone-to-change genre like electronic dance music.

But the obvious question is: how do you guys think this will fare in the US, in a time where Alternative radio is a bit more open-minded than, say, two years before? I can't bother to make any predictions right now.

[hunter]

The only button my finger is on after hearing that is the eject button. I hoped for a return to the sound they had in the mid-90s, but I'm sadly disappointed.

[Crushcrushchris]

JAM!!!

I don't think it's going to do anything on alternative though.

It might chart, but it's not going to be high.

#49.

[Slinky]

This song is greatness. It's looking like it could chart pretty soon. Unfortunately songs like this always hit a wall. I predict 38 or so for a peak.

I recognized Q-Tip's voice from his appearance on "Chappelle's Show", though I probably should have remembered him from his 90's hit "Vivrant Thing".

[Nicholas2.0]

This doesn't inspire me to rush out and get the album the way "Star Guitar" did back in the '02 the first time I heard it.

[ƒony (Les taches faibles™)]

I LOVE IT

[alexcuse]

I wish they tried to give this song a push on urban/rap station. It may do well there.

[bks]

Already one of my favorites of the year...and the album is selling in huge numbers this week in the UK and across Europe w/ MusicWeek saying it's the first really big album of 2005.

[[upsilon]™]

Awesome song, although I'll doubt it'll do anything in the U.S. Bummer.

[bks]

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
Album Title: Push the Button
Producer(s): the Chemical Brothers
Genre: DANCE/ELECTRONIC
Label/Catalog Number: Astralwerks ASW 63282
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: February 05, 2005


Brothers in rhythm Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons surely know their way around big beats. As the Chemical Brothers, they have been providing dancefloors and modern rock radio with some of the biggest around since the early '90s. Unfortunately, fifth studio album "Push the Button" finds the duo, well, pushing too many of the same buttons. In other words, what sounded fresh when electronic dance music was hailed as the next big thing by the mainstream media a few years back now sounds a tad dated. That said, lead track and lead single "Galvanize," featuring Q-Tip, does find the twosome stretching out musically. Also rising above the pack is the punky, acid house-laced "Believe," which spotlights the deliciously off-kilter vocals of Bloc Party's Kele Okereke. "The Big Jump," which owes a bit to the Neptunes, begins on the right foot but then trips over its own monotony. The New Order-shaded closing track, "Surface to Air," is a dancefloor anthem in waiting. Additional moments like this would have made "Push the Button" a more memorable and enjoyable ride.—MP

[bks]

Their album debuts at No. 1 this week in the UK while "Galvanize" debuts at No. 3 on the UK Singles chart.

[kingLUKE22]

The beat really caught me instantly... but I'm not feeling Q-Tip's vocals nearly as much. Might grow...

[bluedevil4]

I love this song.
Seem to keep it on repeat while snowboarding.

[kingLUKE22]

Yup, it grew. I'm loving this now.

[bks]

RADIO HOOKED ON CHEMICALS

Single from First Chemical Brothers Album in Three Years “Galvanizes” Listeners

February 9, 2005

It’s been almost eight years since the Chemical Brothers’ “Block Rockin’ Beats,” along with The Prodigy’s “Fire-starter,” made electronica a hopeful music business’s next big thing. Now, with Push the Button, their sixth Astralwerks album and first in three years, the Chemical Brothers are looking to do it again.
Whereas “Block Rockin’ Beats” was built around a brief Schoolly D sample and driven by a minimalist bass line, Button’s first single, “Galvanize,” features full-track vocals from Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) and an unmistakably Middle Eastern-sounding string hook just right for the times.

And radio is eating it up, particularly at Alternative tastemaker stations including L.A.’s KROQ, San Francisco’s Live 105 and Atlanta’s 99X, where the track has been the top request-getter for weeks. Astralwerks and Caroline Records GM Errol Kolosine says that stations across the board have reported a “completely elevated reaction” to the track, indicating that it’s clicking not just with the Chems’ core fans, but with an entirely new group of people. Other major-market stations currently pumping “Galvanize” include KRZQ, KZON, WWCD, KJEE, KBZT, KUCD, WRNX, KNRK, CD101, KMBY and INDIE 103.1. All report major phone action.

“This band has successfully transcended the whole, if you will, electronica moniker,” says Kolosine. “The Kraftwerk and Prodigy comparisons are completely outdated; it would be better to compare them to Pink Floyd in that they’re using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment but traditional song structure. There are many people who like and buy the Chems’ music who don’t even dance.”

The fact that the single is calling out so quickly is certainly an advantage, but their fans have always been rabid,” says EMI Music N.A. Executive Vice President Phil Quartararo. “The fact that radio concurs is a bonus to what their fans already know.”

Exposure on the Chems—a.k.a. Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons—has reached unpre-cedented levels. Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Details, FHM, Teen People and USA Today have all run features, while a just-completed video is already being featured on MTVU, MTV.com,VH1.com, LAUNCH (now Yahoo! Music) and AOL Music. An upcoming U.S. tour will finish up with a bang at the Coachella Festival April 30. “Their live show is a completely mind-blowing experience,” says Kolosine. “It’s become a true calling card for them.”

Says Quartararo, who has a history with the duo since his days as head of Virgin, “What’s remarkable is that they seem to have a unique sense of the pulse of the music community at any given time. These are guys who are always on the leading edge of music whenever they come out with an album.”

Why is this track grabbing such a big radio audience so quickly? Kolosine offers one reason: “In the iPod era, people are no longer allowing genre walls to affect them. This band represents the culmination of mixtape philosophy. You know how popular ‘mash-ups’ have become lately? The Chems have been mashing things up all along.”

[bks]

And it rises to No. 1 on the UK Download singles chart this week...

[reception]

It's New & Active (Alternative) this week with 193 plays, 14 stations, and 2 adds.

[iceman]

I didn't think much of it at first but ever since I heard it yesterday at the theater I am really liking it.

[[upsilon]™]

Hey, I saw a commercial for them on MTV2 yesterday. I'm glad they're getting some attention/publicity.

[reception]

Week ending 3/25/2005: New & Active at Alternative with 113 plays, 11 stations, and 0 adds.