- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Probably the most exquisitely integrated single listening experience the Chemical Brothers have yet come up with.
-
With their reputations at stake, the Chems have conjured their most brilliant work since 1999's "Surrender."
-
Rather than play catch-up, the Chems are accentuating the difference, digging deeper into melody instead of piling on the noise.
-
When this sixth CD opens with a cataclysm of "Transformers" noises, it signals a record that's a little more unapologetically electronic than their previous ones.
-
The Brothers prove they can still poleaxe a dancefloor with a well-aimed barrage of strobe-ing electro-house.
-
We Are the Night is not a return to past glories, but a brave, occasionally faltering but massively enjoyable lunge in new directions, the sound of two frighteningly smart musicians emerging with confidence from a period of uncertainty.
-
UrbIf we're to accuse Chemical Brothers of anything, it's trying to set a lofty new bar in the style they themselves created, and that no one else seems to be working anymore. [Sep/Oct 2007, p.128]
-
Anyone expecting Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons to torch their formula--multiple vocalists drop by and trip the light fantastic--will be disappointed; but their best record since the '90s proves they don’t have to.
-
Under The RadarIt's tailor-made for prime audience cavorting. After all these years, these guys still know how to get a room moving. [Summer 2007, p.87]
-
We Are The Night is the most listless album they've made—and maybe not coincidentally, it's also one of the lightest.
-
It's quickly evident on We Are The Night that the Chemical Brothers are making a serious go at being contemporary.... They pull it off relatively well for the most part.
-
While you may know what you're getting with a Chemical Brothers album, they remain damn good at what they do.... You get the impression that their next album may have to be a bit more adventurous if they're to survive.
-
While there are moments that have the summer days – and daze – of ’99 flooding back, too much of this sixth long-player proper sounds disjointed and manhandled.
-
'All Rights Reversed', the Chems' collaboration with Klaxons, saves 'We Are The Night' from sounding like it's still stuck in the mid-'90s and with Willy Mason and Midlake cropping up, Tom and Ed have again found just enough cool mates to save them from a general feeling of naffness.
-
Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons continue to smear psychedelic synth cheese and stereophonic airplane noises over chewy grooves that veer closer and closer to straight disco.
-
We Are The Night feels bloated and ornate amongst the elegant functionalism of post-millennial club music.
-
We Are the Night is no departure, although it does reveal Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons showing some build-to-suit character instead of angling for the straitjacket-tight and over-serious dance music of their past ten years.
-
On We Are the Night, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons pull out all their tricks, delivering an album of euphoric psychedelic electronica, quirky guest appearances, and danceable grooves.
-
For every catchy electro-dance, there's a tune that leaves you scratching your head.
-
We Are The Night, like most high school reunions, fails to kick-start anything other than nostalgia.
-
The end result is a record that runs quite average, there are some quality songs that can be picked from it ("We Are the Night," "Do it Again," "All Rights Reserved") but by itself it will lose many listeners.
-
On We Are the Night, the Chemical Brothers have switched from integrators to imitators.
-
We Are the Night isn’t awful, but you can hear the rigidity of its formula, like the motorik title tune that burps up its eponymy every few seconds along a signless, moody highway.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 60 out of 91
-
Mixed: 13 out of 91
-
Negative: 18 out of 91
-
DaveAJul 10, 2007Back to their best!
-
Dec 9, 2015
-
Jul 10, 2012