CD reviews: The Chemical Brothers

As this decade becomes overrun with ADHD-enhancing EDM, Tom and Ed Chemical steer us back towards the mid-'90s techno boom with their first release since 2010's underwhelming Further.

Born in the Echoes is a heady mix of pounding trance, stark electro and epic dreampop soundscapes.

Opener Sometimes I Feel So Deserted and the St Vincent-assisted Under Neon Lights positively shimmer, while the rickety breakbeats and abrasive acid spikes of EML Ritual are burnished into an imposing electro-psychedelic monument.

This is their most focused and consistent set since last century.

• The Chemical Brothers. Born in the Echoes. Astralwerks. 

• Four stars (out of five)

Single download: EML Ritual
For those who like: The Prodigy, Underworld, partying like it's 1999

- John Hayden