Cool Hunting

The Chemical Brothers have always been hip – that goes without saying. But sometimes their music was a little irritating and somewhat too bombastic. Again, not saying they weren’t grounbreaking, but you know...

But now with the release of Push the Button, the Chems again push ahead of the pack – so much in fact, they got Q-Tip to sing on their funky, Middle Eastern-tinged single, “Galvanize.” But they didn’t stop there. They got Tim Burgess, former front man for the Charlatans, to add vocals to the ultra-sexy “The Boxer.” And then in an oh-my-god-are-you-kidding-me move, Kele Okereke from the much buzzed about UK post-punkers Bloc Party joins the fun on “Believe.” Overall, they softened their sometimes-obnoxious computer loops, went back to their old school hip-hop and funkified roots and came out with a straight-up party album, with an obvious exception: the angelic “Close Your Eyes,” which adds the right touch of sweetness to balance things out.