Chase & Status certainly have a lot to answer for. Ever since they burst on to the scene with their first album More Than A lot they have helped to transform the drum & bass music scene and their new album Brand New Machine does not fail to impress.
Brand New Machine has a much darker feel than their previous album No more Idols with the first track ‘Gun Metal Grey’ showing off the largely hip hop element to the new album, giving a good indicator in to what to expect in the following tracks.
With just a quick listen you can notice the difference between this album and their previous which had a more commercial feel focussing on big hits with big names such as ‘End Credits’ ft. Plan B and ‘Blind Faith’ ft. Liam Bailey. Brand new machine has a lot more in common with Chase & Status’ first album More Than A lot focussing on what Chase & Status are brilliant at infusing drum & bass with hip-hop.
You can be forgiven for questioning at times whether you’re listening to a Chase & Status’ album or in fact one plucked straight from the 90s dance scene. With songs like ‘deeper devotion’ and their brand new single ‘Count on me’ the album has a certain 90s feel about it that I absolutely love.
Both singles ‘Lost & Not found’ ft. Louis M^ttrs and ‘Count on me’ ft. Moko perfectly show off Chase & Status’ talent but the real stars of this album are those tracks that offer a more chilled out drum & bass listen. ‘What is right’ ft. Nile Rodgers & Abigail Wyles and Alive ft. Jacob Banks are the kind of songs that I could listen to again and again and with strong vocals that compliment Chase & Status’ drum & bass style perfectly you can’t go wrong.
Not every track on this album shows off Chase & Status’ brilliance ‘Gangsta boogie’ ft. Knytro attempts to mix old school hip hop and Chase & Status’ classic drum & bass style and personally I don’t think it pays off.
After listening to the album you’ll notice that at times the next track can feel like a completely different album but who said an album could only stick to one style? Chase & Status may have taken quite a large risk in combining hip-hop, drum & bass and 90s dance style tracks into one album but it definitely pays off. Brand new machine is once again a showcase of what Chase & Status do best make absolute bangers of dance tracks with a pinch of hip hop just to keep you on your toes.
Brand New Machine has elements of pure genius but their attempts at combining various styles into one album may leave some wishing they had just stuck to drum & bass dance hits that dominated their last album. Although a couple of the tracks may not leave much to be desired overall this album has something for every Chase & Status fan.
Brand new machine may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I’ll be drinking it by the bucket load!
4/5
Charlotte McIntyre
Comments