Born In The Echoes
by The Chemical Brothers
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 49
  3. Negative: 6 out of 49
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  1. Heartsoulx
    Jul 17, 2015
    6
    Born In The Echoes is another example of Rowlands and Simons' magic way of making machines sing. A+

    Born In the Echoes is better than Random Access Memories (Daft Punk 2013)
    It deserves a Grammy :)
  2. KingMajkl
    Jul 18, 2015
    6
    I'm a bit torn on this one... it's quite a treat in places, but I can't help but feel the album lacks ambition, cohesion and 'punch' overall. For every masterful track ('Taste Of Honey', 'Under Neon Lights', 'Born in the Echoes'), there's an anonymous one ('Sometimes I Feel So Deserted', 'Wide Open', 'Reflexion'). Tracks like 'I'll See You There' and 'Go' are somwhat "vintage ChemicalI'm a bit torn on this one... it's quite a treat in places, but I can't help but feel the album lacks ambition, cohesion and 'punch' overall. For every masterful track ('Taste Of Honey', 'Under Neon Lights', 'Born in the Echoes'), there's an anonymous one ('Sometimes I Feel So Deserted', 'Wide Open', 'Reflexion'). Tracks like 'I'll See You There' and 'Go' are somwhat "vintage Chemical Brothers" in their style, but it's been done before to better effect on their previous outings (the psychedelic hooks and arrangements of 'Setting Sun' and 'Let Forever Be' just blow 'I'll See You There' out of the water, as does 'Just Get Yourself High' and 'Galvanize' VS. 'Go').

    I also fail to sense the overall artistic direction of the album. Maybe it's the tracklist and transitions between tracks that's off, but the experimental tracks of the second half just don't 'fit' that well with the restrained dance tracks of the first. It may be intentional; but I always found that one of the Chemical Brothers' greatest strengths back in the day was their ability to merge a plethora of different musical influences into a cohesive, artistic whole. Whether you're listening to 'Let Forever Be' or 'Hey Boy, Hey Girl' you just KNOW it's the Chemical Brothers. Not so here, I'm afraid.
    I think part of the problem is that they've stripped their sound a bit to make it more minimalist in style - this can be a strength (the title track 'Born in the Echoes' is fantastic), but for the most part I just feel like it's robbed the Brothers' of their personality - the psychedelic edge and zaniness that made their early albums come together, come alive and explode. Seriously, check out the acid-induced production on 'Dig Your Own Hole' or 'Surrender'... it's so trashy, insane and original, you'll feel like you've gone to space and back when it's over!

    Just to be clear, while I'd love for them to embrace the experimental APPROACH to production of their earlier works a bit more, I'm NOT saying that they should just go 'back to their roots' and repeat the same kind of compositions over and over again... the best tracks on Born in the Echoes are the ones where they try something new and experimental (Taste Of Honey, Born in the Echoes, Under Neon Lights are AWESOME tracks). More of that, please! I'm actually one of the few who liked their colab. with Miguel on 'This is Not A Game', a fresh, weirdly unpolished psychedelic take on a pop-track - and I'm actually not that down on 'We Are the Night' which, while certainly not perfect, had a bit more personality than a lot of the tracks on here. I'm just saying that they shouldn't be afraid to be a bit more ambitious in their productions - experiment, go crazy! It's what made us fall in love with them in the first place. Besides, they've already established themselves as the godfathers of their genre - with no need to prove anything to anyone, why not just go mental and try something completely different?

    Here's hoping that their next album will be the masterpiece that I'm dead certain they still have in them... "The future - I'll see you there!" ;)    … Expand
  3. Mesmerize
    Aug 9, 2016
    6
    6.5 z
  4. Ekko
    Aug 1, 2015
    6
    A good overall record, but missing out on the epic landmark moments like The Test, Where Do I Begin or even the obvious bang-on-moments like Hey Boy, Hey Girl or Galvanize or Block Rockin' Beats. It's a good solid mix of (a little too much) tried and true chemical synth abuse, but a little bit lacking in the beat department. As much as the songwriting and tweaking skills have developed,A good overall record, but missing out on the epic landmark moments like The Test, Where Do I Begin or even the obvious bang-on-moments like Hey Boy, Hey Girl or Galvanize or Block Rockin' Beats. It's a good solid mix of (a little too much) tried and true chemical synth abuse, but a little bit lacking in the beat department. As much as the songwriting and tweaking skills have developed, the drums kind of take a back seat in recent ChemBros records. They'r organic and raw and analog, but they don't punch like they used to. Overall, this album is solidly good, but no DYOH pt.2 or another sort of great re-imagination of their sound.… Expand
  5. NotForThrees
    Dec 29, 2015
    6
    --press play--
    1. Sometimes I feel so Deserted: Good intro, good groove. I start to feel I will like this album. It certainly does not sound like the previous Further (2010), which I loved, but is not bad at all.
    2. Go: What could go wrong? One of the singles, old style ChemBros. all the way, both music and video. I got the feeling this could be one of their best albums. I wonder who    --press play--
    1. Sometimes I feel so Deserted: Good intro, good groove. I start to feel I will like this album. It certainly does not sound like the previous Further (2010), which I loved, but is not bad at all.
    2. Go: What could go wrong? One of the singles, old style ChemBros. all the way, both music and video. I got the feeling this could be one of their best albums. I wonder who "Q-tip" is...
    3. Under Neon Lights: Not bad, not as good as the two previous songs. Not a fan of how she sings.
    4. EML Ritual: Don't like where this is going. Annoying ship noises, idiotic repetition of the 'chorus'.
    5. I'll See You There: "let forever be"-style beats. 303-ish synths. Not my tempo.
    6. Just Bang: Ok, this starts to sound more and more like old, very old Bros. But not the good ones, like the not-so-good tracks of the first albums.
    7. Reflexion: Average. However, I am sure they have used the exact same sounds (and loops) on another song (can't remember which one).
    8. Taste of Honey: The Bros. have never been famous for their lyric quality, but "If you don't have no money, You won't get no honey, It just keeps on growin', The money is flowin'" COME ON!! Very, very bad.
    --already want to play stop, but continue...--
    9. Born in the Echoes: Another mediocre song, not good enough to give the name to the album.
    10. Radiate: A robot voice slowly saying Ra-di-ate! Not the best tribute to Kraftwerk.
    11. Wide Open: Think of a closing song similar to "the pills won't help you now", but not nearly as good.
    --finished--
    Conclusion: Is not a bad album, but I did not enjoy it as much as I was expecting. It may be because I like so much the direction they went with Further (2010) and they definitely did not follow on this one.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

88
#88 Most Discussed Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Resident Advisor
    Aug 18, 2015
    60
    Born In The Echoes follows the duo's formula of saving the more psychedelic tracks for the end.
    Read full review
  2. Magnet
    Aug 12, 2015
    80
    The Chems remain committed to their singular vision, still plying those swooning synths, continuing to breathe new life from the echoes. [No. 123, p.55]
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Aug 12, 2015
    70
    Born In the Echoes maintains a pop-sensitive groove for all but two of its songs.... But the real winners on this record as usual are the curios.
    Read full review
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