I don't normally do this, but I thought I would take the time out to write up a detailed review of this new release.
I had been eagerly anticipating the release of Chase & Status' new album No More Idols for a long time now, and have been following the duo closely after their sublime 2008 album, More Than Alot.
However, as predicted, the album is a bit of a disappointment, personally I feel due to the lack of D&B on the album. Don't get me wrong, their production is second to none and there are a few stand out tracks on the album such as 'No Problem', 'Blind Faith' & 'Flashing Lights' (only because co-produced with Subfocus) & 'Time', however quite a few of the tracks on here are absolute trash. I don't know what the duo were thinking with the production of 'Fool Yourself' with a nice intro by Plan B only to be ruined by a cheesy drum loop and MC Rage shouting the same petty phrase repeatadly over it. Most of the tunes have a guitar based melody to it which only reminds me of pendulum and rock rave commercialism, and just by looking at the colabs throughout the album one could have predicted this.
Again, many of the best tracks on this album were released as singles (Hypest Hype was even released for free) before the album itself which makes the album even more disappointing. I only fear that the majority of these tunes are going to be played in my local Oceana instead of Fabric and other D&B clubs where essentially this music belongs.
All I can say is I am glad to have witnessed the days when tracks (Smash TV, Take me away, Eastern jam) off More Than Alot tore down clubs like Fabric & Matter and sent crowds into a frenzy, however only a select few off No More Idols will be able to compare to the masterpiece of 2008.
If it is Drum & Bass your after, you will be disappointed with the new C&S and be better off buying one or two singles rather than the album as a whole, but if you like all genres with a splash of dub then you could possible be for you.
Chase & Status, remember where your roots lie, Im sure you've made good money through this album by attracting a wider more commercial audience, but please can we have some future classics released for the D&B heads in the future please!
Sam