Chemical Brothers-- Dig Your Own Hole (Astralwerks 6180)

Okay, it's okay to come out of the bunkers. You may cease stopping, dropping and rolling. Contrary to the huge amount of hype on both sides of the Atlantic, the Chemical Brothers do not kill rock and roll as we know it . Beyond sampling Lothar and the Hand People (an act that, admittedly, winded rock and roll) there isn't anything incredibly new here.

It's good techno. It's great techno when they enlist vocalists. It never quite gets off of the ground, though. The Brothers claim to love the "boom," but the "boom" makes precious rare appearances. It shows up in the singles, sure ("Setting Sun" is all kinds of rocks-off music, but you already knew that), but I'm still looking for it elsewhere. One exception: "Where Do I Begin," with Beth Orton doing the vocal honors, gives you your boom as well as your beauty; the first four minutes are delicious hangover music.

Unfortunately, the last two minutes hamstring it with an extraneous "boing"-noise workout at the end that does its damnedest to break the mood. I'd like to think they're pulling their punches. After all, this is their breakthrough album, and they need to build a crossover audience. But I've heard them rip shit up (as recent as this month with "Prescription Beats" on the new "Block Rockin' Beats" single) and a viciously raving mix of Bomb the Bass' "Bug Powder Dust" (and I mean 'raving' in the classical sense). . . and that's the direction I want them going in.

Harsher and smarter next time, please.

--- Tyler Magill