Exit Planet Dust

Big beat and breakbeat techno built on heavy loops, distorted samples, pounding beats, and sparse vocal snippets hammers forward with relentless intensity. Listening feels like being trapped in a warehouse with the same bassline drilling into your ears over and over. The result is energetic and immersive at first, but quickly becomes straining and overly repetitive.

No tanto mi estilo pero es súper top para la electrónica realmente

It all kind of bleeds together as one song but not in a cool prog rock way but because I literally can't differentiate between individual songs cause it all sounds the same. I'll give it 2 stars because unlike most of these shitty techno albums I get its like 45 minutes minutes instead of 75.

Im not really into dj music but I was open minded and actually somewhat enjoyed this!

**A strange album

I've listened to this twice now and it's kind of a blur, still. It moves from one tune to the next without much fuss, picking you up at the beginning then putting you back down at the end. Not for LISTENING listening, if you know what I mean. The heaviness of the riffs are appealing, and they don't make you think too hard about anything. Which is a nice change from a lot of the albums on this list. Thumping EDM that satisfies your need for (mostly) uptempo, repetitive headbangers.

I love this style of music from late 90s electronic, such as Moby and in Ratchet and Clank. This album Is very good, with some interesting sounds, but not quite as polished as some others for the Chemical Brothers debut.

Didn't hate but the repetition drove me crazy. 2.5 rounded down

Dated

Most people could do without this.

boom crap

good ones are good, rest are unremarkable

I'll be coming back to this for sure.

I get the Chemical Brothers and the Dust Brother confused sometimes. And that was BEFORE I even read about the name controversy. I'm not usually a fan of electronic music, but this is so damn good (like the Dust Brothers) I can't help myself. Solid, energetic beats. Precision sample selection and placement. A lot of times I find this music repetitive to exhaustion, but these guys have figured out just how to manipulate things so it never really feels that way. Speaking of repetitive... Damn this is good.

It's aight

Aunque no es de mi agrado este tipo de género, la segunda mitad del disco se destaca por canciones con una atmósfera más nostálgica, melancólica, canciones que me gustaron mucho como "One too many mornings". Es un disco Cinematográfico, dónde podés sentir fácilmente como cada track podría encajar fácilmente en una peli.

a fun electronic album

used to listen to them a lot!

I really enjoyed this one and unlike the previous day's album by Underworld, these tracks evolved. I've added it to my playlist.

Compared to my consumption of all things Rock related, I very rarely listen to Electronic music or at least listen to a full album. This is mainly due to the repetitive and sprawling nature of the music which is always a factor. I grew up listening to The Chemical Brothers with their big hits like Forever Be and Hey Boy Hey Girl, however, i don't recall hearing anything from this album. If I can compare it to a rock album it would be Bleach by Nirvana due it only being loved by purists and the group's sound evolving to something more charts friendly on the follow-up. So the question is, are the purists correct as this is seen as a pioneer in Big Beat electronic music. I will say as a positive the 50 minute runtime did not feel like an endurance test here, a lot of the tracks flowed nicely into each other. In fact it almost plays like a live set with a real band which gives it its charm. Would I say this is worthy of 5 stars though? Not quite. For how well the songs flowed, except for the Brothers Gonna Work It Out sample on Leave Home (which I knew from Public Enemy) unfortunately the majority of these songs don't necessarily have a memorable hook. Nonetheless, its a fine album and time has been kind to it.

It sounds cool and innovative, but also a lot of it is the same for me. It reminds me of my younger years, but that’s about it. Not something I’d intentionally seek to listen to, but it’s cool, I guess.

Definitely not my kind of vibe but I can appreciate the energy behind it.

3.9

What a cool récord! I love it

Glad to get a dance album during this project. Far too few. Not the best, but better than most previous singer songwriter output

3.7, doesn’t quite earn the 4 for me but has some unique sounds and beats. For sure not for everyone but this is solid, especially for a debut album.

As an engineer might say, I certify that this album substantially complies in all material respects with the original design intent and is fit for use. In other words, when you aren’t high in a nightclub, this album has some fun moments, but is generally mediocre to listen to.

I want to do a controlled scientific study on if listening to music like this makes me write my little reports faster. Speed, not accuracy is the key variable.

Cant believe it was 1995. Exciting and genre bending

Boy, we're getting a lot of Chemical Brothers in a short period of time in this project? We just had "Dig Your Own Hole" about a week ago. My views were tinted with nostalgia for that one. I may not be as kind to this album, but it's also some of their earliest work which I always thought was better. This one is mostly inoffensive, more electronic, and less frenetic than Dig Your Own Hole. This album confirms it though, I'm getting old.. I'm just not as excited about electronica/dance/etc like I used to be. More than "Dig", this album wouldn't hurt as some background music (could work well as a soundtrack!) but I'm not intentionally putting this on. It's smoother and more mellow. I don't have the patience though for it all the time. (3/5) to remain consistent. I used to love them more, but I've clearly grown out of them.

A second Chemical Brothers album on this list inside of a week is pretty unfair to them. Was NOT in the mood for a rave when this came up, and very seldom am. Glad it mellowed out and got more interesting after a few tracks, but still isn't anything I'd ever reach for or recommend. But I liked it maybe slightly better (and certainly not less) than the last one, so I'll give it the same 3/5.

Variety: 0 Adequacy: 3 Listenability: 1 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 0 = 1.0 "Hear the voices in my head/ I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring" INTRO This is another one I probably heard some of this on MTV and maybe some compilations or playlists, but could not name you one track. Part of the problem I guess with having a largely faceless media presence I guess. Also the first time an act has gotten a second album int the list for us to look at. Seeing as I gave their most popular ( I think?) album a measley 2 stars, I don't have much hope for this one. THE TRACKS "Leave Home" - First track does not ring ay bells for me. I can see that this came out before Dig Your Own Hole, but to my ears it doesn't sound as dated as some of the stuff on that, while still being squarely in the 90s. Maybe it's the relative simplicity of the thing. Didn't do much for me. It blends right into... "In Dust We Trust" ... which starts off with more of the same, bass register electronic rumble underneath some possibly sampled beats. This one has a lot more effects and quirky bits mixed in, some muffled yelling, along with those wet sounding electronic high hat beats. We find ourselves once again very much in the late 90s action movie realm. I can picture the frenetically edited hacking scene now. Can't imagine anyone throwing this on to either relax to or dance to. So who is it for then? "Song to the Siren" - Grating opening to this track sets the mood perfectly, and hey look at that it continues to repeat under the bog standard beat for a good minute. After that it settles into something a bit more listenable, but just feels like I'm waiting for someone's awful vintage cell phone ring tone to go off the whole time. "Three Little Birdies Down Beats" - And we flow once again into the next track. Can't say the one continuous album length track gimmick is going to earn them any points as it feels more like a tactic to exhaust and confuse to my old man ears than some sort of call to "keep dancing y'all!". Maybe this is a hell of s lot more interesting with some mind altering chemicals flowing through your brain. The inly thing I'm feeling is impatience. "Fuck Up Beats" - This one became pure background noise and I didn't even notice it was over. "Chemical Beats" - This isn't going to get any more interesting is it? How many tracks are left? Jesus... "Chico's Groove" - Some variation finally. Way more chill, and not so aggressively generic. Nothing great but it's different at least. "One Too Many Mornings" - Staying in chill mode here for another unoffensive track. Little too new agey for me though. "Life Is Sweet" - This is promising. Solid building beat that develops into something approaching Dig Your Own Hole era material. Then the vocals drop in and it loses me. Decent bit of variation as well, but wears out its welcome after about 4 minutes in. "Playground for a Wedgeless Firm" - By far the most interesting track so far. The stuttering electronic bit doesn't last long enough to be grating, and the beat is hypnotic in a non-terrible way. "Alive Alone" - Only example of successful vocals on the album. Beth Orton rarely fails to be anything less than interesting, and she performs an admirable job of rescuing this one. HIGHLIGHTS MIDLIGHTS - "Chico's Groove" - "One Too Many Mornings" - "Life Is Sweet" - "Playground for a Wedgeless Firm" - "Alive Alone" LOWLIGHTS - "Leave Home" - "In Dust We Trust" - "Song to the Siren" - "Three Little Birdies Down Beats" - "Fuck Up Beats" - "Chemical Beats" FINAL THOUGHTS Very boring stuff for me this go around. This one didn't even have a "Block Rockin Beats" or "Setting Sun" to give it a little life and interrupt the sameyness. I can't imagine a world where I'd want to hear any of these tracks again. At least something like Barry Adamson's "Moss Side Story" ( which I also gave a low rating to) has some variety, and attempted to interest the listener. Maybe that's the purpose of this record though - mindless noise, for mindless dehydrated zombies to grind their teeth too whist flopping around in an epileptic's nightmare of flashing lights and being splashed with the sweat of strangers ( if you can't tell I'm not a very big fan of clubbing). If the hole thing had shown the variation of the last 4th, this thing could have maybe pulled a 2.4. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Happy to forget this one altogether

Second The Chemical Brothers album in a week. My enthusiasm is muted. So is this album it seems. This blended into the background, mostly, seamlessly. Nothing stood out to me. Yes, these guys know how to design sound. That said there is little I can add to my previous review. It’s difficult to rate these albums. It’s like the bathroom music for The Matrix. It will get you to nod your head for a while, but for what? 3/5 - Inoffensive and ambient.

Weirdly, I know “Dig Your Own Hole” really well and then stopped paying attention to the Chemical Brothers. This is alright. More like a mixtape or a DJ set than an album - which I suppose is the point. It all grooves along well enough but not a lot stuck in my head after one listen. “Leave Home” is the stand out track.

Classic debut chems.

Another electronic record that did not do much for me. Definitely one of the better-sounding ones so far.

Alt tilsier at jeg burde elske Chemical Bros. Så hvorfor kjeder jeg meg? Jeg prøver så godt jeg kan å etterleve The Big Beat Manifesto, men jeg må slutte å lyve for meg selv: Big Beats er ikke "the best." (Breakbeats er "the best," åpenbart.)

Jeg er ikke så fan av Matrix-musikk, merker jeg. "One Too Many Mornings" minner litt om Air, som jeg liker, men det meste med denne plata liker jeg altså ikke.

Hard pass, just noise

Eh, it was ok. No me movió mucho pero era esperable porque es mostly instrumental. Hay un tema en particular que me re llevó back a las épocas de mi infancia jugando FIFA, y no sé por qué porque googlee y parece no haber tenido ningun tema ahi. Pero bueno, osea es eso, solo upbeat musica electronica que no me movió un montón pero tampoco me disgustó.

Feels like I've gotten this album five times already.

Electronic music doesn't excite me, but the variety here was nice. From pounding, high-energy percussion in earlier tracks to some more chill beats later on, this wasn't just hypnotic repetition (there was plenty of that, but not mind-numbing).

Best Track - "Life Is Sweet"

I want to gather the children around and explain how important it was in the mid 1990s to conspicuously display this record somewhere in your living room. I am having a Pavlovian response to the cover art, to where as I stare at it I need to be using a free AOL trial CD as a coaster for a flat and fruitless vodka soda in my friend's tiny apartment. Also, am I the only one who as I stare at this I am still having the same thought that I have had every single time I have clocked this cover over the past 30 years: How much I want to be driving that car so I can pull over, punch the hippie guitar player in the face and give the vested chicka a ride to wherever she wants to go. For the album's ubiquity, it's hilarious that we never saw the Chemical Brothers perform or ever even discussed them much at all. It's the mid 90s post college city slicker equivalent of that late 80s b&w dorm poster of the cool couple kissing in Paris. Omnipresent but never discussed. Hilariously, only the first track sounds at all familiar to me now. What a bunch of fucking idiots we were. Not that this record is bad, not at all, but c'mon. I mean, were they even brothers?!? 😅

Argh--the curse of this project is its obsession with showcasing debut albums above all else for promising bands. I've been a big Chemical Brothers fan for a long time, and while I'm really glad they got included in the collection (and even more glad that they get two albums), this is *not* one of their best albums. Even worse, this album's relentless focus on making instrumental dance beats does a disservice to The Chemical Brothers (formerly Dust Brothers until the US Dust Brothers promised to sue them if they didn't change their name). Later albums have both more variety and more of a song structure to most of their tracks (sort of captured with "Alive alone"), which is a large part of their appeal to me. There's nothing wrong with this album--it definitely gets stronger in the second half--and even a few good-to-great tracks on it: mainly their original hit "Song to the siren" (especially fun to find out that one of the samples in this is from Dead Can Dance, a band that should have made it's way into this collection btw), the more forward-looking "Chemical beats" and "Life is sweet" (mainly for the odd video, but also nice to have The Charlatans' Tim Burgess providing vocals). But despite these positives, it's definitely not what I would have chosen for this collection, given how much more they've done with their career.

Chem bros got the chem beats and we all live better through chemistry

Nah

A few songs is ok, but a whole album at once is too much

Feels like a 90s action movie montage

Was a lot of dust!

Its

Still fun! I like their style.

Not really the kind of stuff I usually listen to, but there were some cool sounds in this. This album's a bit same-y after a while, but it's really enjoyable when you get into their groove. Favorites: In Dust We Trust, Fuck Up Beats, Chemical Beats, One Too Many Mornings

Iconic Big Beat record. Just an absolute slab. Love the blown out basslines and pummeling breakbeats. None of it is subtle, but sometimes music is meant to just rattle your bones. If you don't like this one at first, try playing it painfully loud.

Correcto

It’s cool I guess. I’ve gotten so many electronic albums recently that I might be getting fatigued.

I was dancing around all day to this.

I've never heard of this duo so I didn't know what to expect. Very surprised, I love this type of music.

this album is very… interesting but in a good way. i have no idea if i’ll ever listen to any of these songs ever again, but they were pretty good and psychedelic

There's only a few bands that I know exactly where I was the first time I heard them and The Chemical Brothers is one of them (also, Primus and Slim Cessna). That may be because the first listen was so powerful that I immediately went and purchased an album. For the CBs, that was Dig Your Own Hole, but I loved it so much that I acquired this album shortly thereafter (from Waterloo Records on Lamar). These guys just really nailed the big beat sound on those 2 albums, maybe defined it. I am not a dancer in any way, but this stuff makes me want to. Big, noisy, driving, with just tons of energy. Man, I love this shit. 5.

3/5 - Not my usual style, but I was into this. Maybe because the thumping corresponded with all the sinus pressure in my head. Of all the rave-y albums we've had here, I'd pick this one so far.

Another good one from the brothers. Enjoyable from start to finish.

Favourite Songs: Leave Home In Dust We Trust Playground For A Wedgeless Firm

Very cool! I love sample-based electronic music like this.

Great Album.

1/5 this is just not for me.

muy tecno sonidos raros meh

Pre-hype Big Beat that still hits. Hypnotic, motorik, and cool in a way that doesn't try too hard. A couch-melter with a pulse.

Sometimes you get electronica that sounds like a toy raygun put up against a microphone or you get the intro song to Blade at the blood rave. This hits a middle spot. You could definitely put some of these songs in cool action movies of the era or in your favorite dance halls. Its repetitive as fuck but thats par for the course in this genre, and these guys are one of the better ones at it.

Enjoyable but forgettable electronic music. Good for a Matrix cosplay party or something like that. I will say though… it definitely had a distinct sound. Once it ended another CB song started and I knew it wasn’t from this album immediately

Leave home sounds like the extended cut of the “you wouldn’t download a car” piracy ad, can see this whole album being apart of some mid 2000's indie rock film the songs flowed pretty nicely into each other as well, absolutely love when artists do that makes you want to listen to the whole album one too many mornings and alive alone felt like a movie character send off, they're walking off into the sunset onto new beginnings as the credits roll. maybe im just describing the album cover playground was essentially goop vibes, my brain was getting scanned, that probably makes no sense but that's what i heard i can say i didn't have high expectations for this one coming in but i enjoyed it more than i thought i would

<eye roll>

Exit Planet Dust estuvo super divertido. Buen album to work out or just dance to, mucha energia, un buen sonido. Me gusto mucho como las canciones seemed to blend into one another pero se sentian distintas cada una. Super cool! 4/5

Bleh.

I didn't hear much about its advance.

Snore. I know there are folks who love the genre, and Chemical Brothers are probably the top of the genre, but i really hate the genre. This record doesn’t do anything to change my opinion. 2/10

Yes!

As an only child, I neither know nor care for brothers. Chemical, or otherwise

Honestly, so far after hearing half of this album I am not too impressed. I love a few of their songs, and they are among the main Big Beat bands, but for me this is not even close to Prodigy, probably 3 stars, but will see after listening to this fully

A little non descript, but kewl

Invecchiati male

I'm mostly pretty disinterested in the "big beat" genre but I'll accept that this is a strong example of the form. I get a little more mileage out of the dreamier bits like "One Too Many Mornings" and "Alive Alone" (having lyrics definitely helps there too).

The kind of music that makes a great 30 second needledrop in a heist movie, but is extremely tedious as an album 2.5

cool

Started strong then started to get a bit redundant. I don’t blame the music as much as my taste.

Very interesting, not my cup of tea but was cool to listen to. I feel like you could plug this into any late 90’s/Early 00’s action movie and no one would bat an eye. 5.5/10

Fabulous album! I especially like the way the tracks flow and evolve vs a lot of techno today coming out of Drumcode etc. that can drone quite a bit longer without much happening. Super interesting twists and turns on this one. Love it!

Another electronic album! Very fun and I can see why people really enjoy them.

A versatile album with simple but groovy beats that work well in all circumstances, wether it's on headphones, as background music or for clubbing. Personally, I never could completely get into TCB's sound, I've always been more drawn to the harsher, more industrial beats of The Prodigy. By comparison, this album feels lighter, almost too conventional (even if it was indeed grounbreaking at the time), and doesn't cut as deep as it could have. But that's just a personal preference ; Exit Planet Dust is still an iconic Big Beat album. A pleasant listen overall, but not something I'd really play at home these days. 6/10

Pioneer, sure, I’ll give them that but nowhere near the brutal Dig Your Own Hole, which came later and still stands as their masterpiece (at least for me). This one drags a bit. At a time when Prodigy were already blowing club techno off the map, this feels less sharp, less dangerous. Still, it absolutely matters in that early electro-rock shift, and you can hear the blueprint forming. Do I ever feel like putting it back on? Not really. It’s been off my playlist for years and it’s staying there.

Another genre I’m generally lukewarm towards but I liked this execution. I was nodding along to most of it and particularly liked Life is Sweet.

Why do we need yet another electronica album on this list. Not important or essential in any way.

So incredibly boring and repetitive.

Sounds so good as a whole. They have this mastery of mixing things up before it gets stale or predictable that all started from the very beginning. The second you feel the song is established and could get repetitive, they completely switch it up. And they carry this through at least Come With Us.

Yes. Let me exit.

My washing machine enjoyed it.

There was nothing wrong with this album per se. I just can't see a situation where I'd want to listen to it again.

I was actually pretty surprised by this album. Lots of cool experimental sounds that take me back to the cyber grunge of the 90's and early 2000's

❤️

5/10 Can sit in the background doing it's things, but doesn't warrant too much attention as it never really changes. The tracks with singers on are by far the best

Overall Rating - 2.41/5 (4.82/10). I had a very difficult time telling where one track ended and the next began. I just don't like most electronica.

not my favourite Chem Bros record but still such a good listen

It’s a generous 3 as I like the chem bros as a live act, not usually the kind of thing I listen to at home

this may be my favorite electronic album on this list so far, as a comprehensive *album*. the usual complaints about electronic albums on this list -- too long, too unfocused, desperately in need of a dj -- did not apply.

the soundtrack to playing first person shooters in the 90s, pretty fun

I enjoyed most of this, especially for something to have on while cleaning and organizing some things at home. However, there were at least three points where there was like a whining/squealing sound happening and it meant that I couldn't just sit back and enjoy the album all the way through because I'd get yanked out, wincing, wondering if everyone else but me has high-frequency-sound hearing loss. 3.5

not my kinda thing but its cool, i think gachiakuta should put them awn the soundtrack team

At least it wasn't Kid Rock again.

These albums for me are easy to enjoy, but hard to love. This didn't get boring. It's actually really good at times. I don't know if I would come back to this album to listen as deeply as I did this time, but for good background music, definitely.

Rating: 5.5/10

bad but the final song was good

Pretty generic background house/electronic music.

Leave Home Life is Sweet Alive Alone

Three Little Birdies Down Beats One Too Many Mornings

Fave tracks: one too many mornings and alive alone

A bit too samey and background noise vibes

Always down for some chemical bros

One of the easiest dance/ electronic albums I have listened to. Love the breakbeats and the prodigy type production. Few fun fills and vocal stabs too to keep it interesting. Unfortunately not much variety but still an enjoyable listen

A nice surprise from a band with a longer history than I would have expected.

Not necessarily something for active listening, but solid background music

# Album Name: Exit Planet Dust # Artist: Chemical Brothers # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: An album i should not enjoy but i kinda did. There wasnt a track that really stood out but it was good as an overall listen. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Pretty crazy this is from the early to mid 90s. Sounds incredibly ahead of it time. However, just not really my vibe. 3/5

90's action movie score Best Song: One Too Many Mornings Rating: 3.5/10 Stars: 2/5

відчуття ніби я дивлюся серіал 90х типу поліція маямі чи сіесай місце злочину

As always, I’m at a loss for how to rate electronic dance music. If you’re clubbing, great! If you’re no clubbing, it’s pretty boring. A 2.

Some interesting and chill electronica. Different as it wasn’t just nightclub music, it was actually a vibe (idk how else to explain it).

I know I'm not the only one who feels like listening to this is like listening to a foreign language. My brain just doesn't process this the same way as it does, say, a guitar and vocal. I might as well be listening to a documentary recording of a city street at midday or a severe thunderstorm in Davenport, Iowa in 1998.

Imagine watching one of those 90s action movies fight / chase scenes ... for almost an hour ... That is this sound ttrack, I mean album

4/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-chemical-brothers/exit-planet-dust/ Misses some of their charting monster hits that follow, which might actually make it work better as an album. I’ll always have a soft spot for Chemical Brothers, but mainly focused on those big hits.

wow. I love this one. Geavy beats, acid synths, pure raw energy.

Love the Chemical Bros. Love this album. That is all.

Yuck Drugs music.

4/10 – Weak

not really my thing but they werent awful

So vibey and atmospheric that I almost forgot to party

Chemical brothers, not what I was expecting. Reminded me a lot of what the matrix pulled from in a funny way. It may have impact on wiki but not to my inclination.

This is one of my favorites. I somehow stumbled upon this album around the time it was released and it instantly hooked me. The first 3 tracks and Life is Sweet, especially the transition from that into Playground for a Wedgeless Firm, are the standouts. The whole album is tremendous though.

Reminds me of the Matrix movies!

Some of Daft Punk's works are a direct inspiration from this album, which makes it enough to like it a lot. Also, it is easily hearable to any ear, that Alive Alone inspired MANY songs to this date...

Amazing! Feels like a soundtrack to commit vandalism xD

Another album that might be a 4 on a further listen. Something to revisit later.

If this is essential electronic music, I want nothing to do with electronic music.

For the most part I like the Chemical Brothers more at their more uptempo. But this is perhaps their most hypnotic work, taking the synths from acid house and the beats from hip hop and turn it into something pretty psychedelic. And, come on, basically no electronic artist before or since has ever been lucky enough to make their grand entrance on record with a sample as perfect as "the brothers gonna work it out". Just writing it I know it's going to be stuck in my head the next two days.

Surprisingly very enjoyable. High energy music earlier on and then slows down to a chill groove.

You wouldn’t steal a car type beat

Some bangers

Highlights: Chemical Beats, Chico's Groove, Life Is Sweet. In a nutshell: rockin' beats. I daresay the Chemical Brothers sound is more creative and layered than their contemporary Fatboy Slim (who released Better Living Through Chemistry in September 1996). It's a vibe. Get into it. Overall: 5/10

🎧Pretty cool shit, liked it more than expected

Greatvalbum

I really liked this. I enjoy techno and other high energy more dance oriented forms of music, and this is a high quality example.

I love dancing! Dance music is fun and cool :)

Not my favorite by these guys but a solid techno/rave album. It definitely is well produced and shows their abilities to make these fast, punchy beats but I think I prefer when they go a little more surreal/psychedelic. Definitely a cool intro record and glad these guys are represented though as they are electronic music legends.

Makesbme want to rave on my commute.

What chemicals were they on? I have mixed feeling about the Techno genre. A lot of Techno tracks feel like filler to me, but some are crazy good. The quality swing is sad to me. And it is very much apparent on this album. Some tracks like “Leave Home” and “In Dust We Trust” I find to be of top quality, while those such as “Song To The Siren” and “Three Little Birdies Down Beats” sound like something a 4th grader made on their computer. You really get to feel that these guys are having fun on the tracks. I love to imagine that they probably went into the studio one day, and someone just said out of nowhere: “We should use guns shots in one of the beats” (specifically in “Three Little Birdies Down Beats”). The wierd sounds they bring to the table shape the mood of the album, even if they don’t sound good always. The album really is a fun experience though. You’re never really sure what will happen next. Will they play some extremely pitched up vocals? A crazy new set of drums. Or maybe a fucking dolphin scream idk.

Someone’s baby daddy loves this album, and I feel sorry for her.

If I were going to listen to EDM outside of a club setting, I would actually put some of these tracks on. Mostly though, I'm not going to buy and play EDM at home or in my car.

Got this one right after "The Man Machine." Kindof cool to see the progression of the same sort of music a decade and a half later. 90s heist music. Doesn't transport me like other similar albums but great driving music.

This could have been a shorter album and still achieve the same (or better) vibe.

A bit too drawn-out, but pretty interesting beats. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, but it lasted way too long.

Felt like I had heard the entire album in the first 30 seconds. Did these guys pay off the author? 🤔

Electronic is the only genre where you can take a 5 to 10 second musical idea and stretch it out to five minutes and everyone thinks you’re a genius

Definitely more a collection of 12-inch tracks rather than an album. Starts with great purpose, but after a few tracks the template starts to feel a bit tired and the last few tracks feel out of place. There are some subtle touches in there that I wouldn’t have associated with the Chems, and some of the sample choices show more musical depth than many of the big beat merchants of the time. It’s definitely of its time, and not a classic by any means.

Way too much of the same same but not different

Such a cool album! The balance of instrumentals, electric and electronic, rock and techno, wow! I’m loving the sound, unlike anything I’ve listened to before

The closer Alive Alone is brilliant

Good album. Prefer the tracks with vocals especially the Beth Orton one. Need to be in the mood, best suited as music in a public space or when driving, wouldn’t sit down and put it on jus to listen to it as a full album but wouldn’t skip any tracks if the come on in a shuffle. 3.7

Boring. Occasionally bits pique my interest but it never seems to go anywhere other than slight variations of the same thing. Dance music like this is only worthwhile if there's a cool live show to go with it and you are on it. Otherwise it's just repetitive dullness when it's an album. Fine as background music I suppose but that's about it. Cool album cover though.

Electronic dance music

Interesting. Nothing outside the box.

Otvalite)

Unfortunately I'm rarely in a mood to listen to this much electronica in one sitting. Well done music though.

Didn’t finish it but added to a few playlists. These albums are tough to listen to front to back for me unless I’m doing something else at the same time. But, I dug it more than I usually do this sort of thing.

This is great, feels like a proper album but with proper tunes and massive beats. I prefer the up beats of the first 6 tracks than the more chill of the rest. But it's all good.

Was never really my bag but still a great album with one or two tracks that I loved at the time. Nice to revisit - didn’t feel like it had aged badly at all.

really good! I recognize several of these tracks that I used to have in my mp3 collection

Just what I needed this morning. Not a flawless album, but it's great. It no doubt sounds dated by electronic music standards, but it still holds up. The vocal songs can be a bit iffy, though "Alive Alone" gets better as it goes along. 4 stars.

Not my shit but but a few ok tunes

Very repetitive album. Each individual song felt too long. I'm not a fan of repeating noises so this album was not my taste. These songs feel like the "filler" transition songs that a dj would use for 20 seconds.

Not my fav album from them, it was entertaining enough

Slightly dirge-y. Uninspired but perfect for a job I hate.

Exit Planet Dust was a foundational text on Big Beat and moreso a foundation stone on which they have expanded across their impressive career. Of course it’s formulaic, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for at least some variety. They learned to harness the value of the variety on later albums, but this sure has some real bangers.

I liked it a lot.

Crazy funk

Ik had hoge verwachtingen, want ik vind een aantal nummers van hen erg leuk. Maar dit vond ik flink tegenvallen. Net het elektronische genre wat ik niet zo leuk vind. Veel hetzelfde. Wel leuk dat het 1 grote mix was

Decent 3

I like this more than I thought I would, reminds me of a bunch of 90s/2000s action movies. The songs were kind of long though and I don’t know when I would ever pick this up just to listen. Favorite Song(s): In Dust We Trust, Leave Home

a little bit to concept but had some great songs

For a dance album this album rocks. I love how they embrace noise for the sake of noise sometimes and manage to blend it into their funky as fuck mix.

I understand their importance as producers, but I couldn’t finish this.

3 - BAD

I appreciate the energy but I grew tired of this trip hop about half way through

Not my favorite genre, but this was pretty good.

This is my second Chemical Brothers album in less than a week, weird how the randomizer works sometimes. This one is not as good or as fun as Dig Your Own Hole, which I gave a 4/5. Too much of the same beat over and over, especially on the first half of the album. It’s lacking the punch and distinctiveness between the tracks like the other album had. 3/5

OK

Goed debut album, duidelijke basis voor latere (betere) albums. Je hoort dat wel wel heel vet is maar begint ook een beetje te vervelen als je het hele album luistert.

Hoofdontplofferige muziek. Heel erg vet, bizar dat dit album al 30 jaar oud is en dat het hun debuutalbum is. De breakbeats zijn heel vet en werken heel goed met de acid achtige geluiden en de rock (bas)gitaar. Ook de samples zijn erg smaakvol. De opbouw van het album vind ik erg sterk, t heeft iedere keer mijn aandacht weten te pakken. Sterke albumhoes, 5 sterren.

That was a hard listen. I get why people rate this album - it was probably way ahead of its time in terms of sampling and is a very influential house/acid/techno album. The problem is that I bloody hate this kind of music, which makes this album hard to rate very highly. I found it just gave me a headache and I found the repetition of each motif about 16 times extremely irritating. In fairness, I did at times enjoy the less screechy tracks (there weren’t many). Sorry chemical brothers - plus you stole Jez and Super Hans’ sound 1.5/10

14/01/2026 I only really know their big hits. So it was good to hear something a little different from them. Spotify listeners: 3.9 million

This turns into background noise pretty quick

Projekt me baš kažnjava ovaj tjedan. 1/5, 1/10

With all respect to the artists, but I couldn’t finish this album. Techno stuff is not my cup of tea by any means.

One Too Many Mornings

Tecno

I can see how if you liked it you'd really like it. It was just there for me. Didn't like it too much, didn't actively hate it. Maybe drugs would help.

Pretty decent, I would probably have appreciated it more if I listened to it in the context it was presumably intended to be enjoyed in.

The Good: We will soon no longer find ourselves on a dusty planet! The Bad: We’ve traded that one in for a repetitive planet… The Ugly: Everthing… but the album cover… that picture is pretty sweet. It’s not bad. It’s not great either. However, if I would have to choose EMD then I would go for this one prior to any other many of the other one’s on the list… Just checked, and Electronic gets a whopping 20 albums on this list… FUCK ME!!! Shooting this one down the barrel… 3*

Chinese water torture.

i got this album right after “better living through chemistry” by fatboy slim and it’s the same kind of repetitive thing… at least there’s slightly more vocal bits on this one but overall, not my mood. a good, solid album though. i like electronic music but this hasn’t hit like i want it to. i had “one too many mornings” saved on my floaty moods playlist and i like that song. 3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Has some bangers

3.5/5

Incredible

fun! too much for most moods but good workout

Dajú sa nájsť zaujímavé miesta, ako celok má to nezaujalo.

BEATS BEATS BEATS

OK. I'm not a just the DJ/Electronica guy. It's alright I guess. I would love to hear someone rap over this, I think that would be a better album.

I'm not a rave person but this was such a fun ride I will definitely listen again.

There are some parts of the album that absolutely hit. A lot of the samples are nice, just often overused until they feel repetitive.

It literally put me to sleep, but not necessarily in a bad way. Chill and good, but not memorable.

Exit Planet Dust I’m still not sure why dance acts put out full albums. White label singles, sure - they’re for the club. But CD albums, bringing the club into the home? It is like getting intimate in the bedroom and then suggesting “why don’t we take this to the utility room.” It may work for some people. 1 This would bore a goldfish. 1/5

Where did the good music go?

It was fine. It was never annoying, but this genre is pretty repetitive to me, and this was no different.

"Good" electronic music in the sense that it's pretty fun to listen to without dancing or drugs. Interesting did't realize there were two dust brothers, and that they are not the same guys what did Pauls Boutique

Less interesting than I remembered but pretty solid

Solid but repetitive. Good for workouts or just working in general.

Best experienced walking through a city in the early morning when it's still dark. Pure vibes.

Listenable.

Not as overtly annoying as their other album, but uninteresting just the same.

I wanted to like it more than I did. My main issue is with the structure of the songs as they didn’t really go anywhere or have a strong enough hook to build around. I like a lot of their other stuff but this was a bit of a disappointment.

I’m going to be critical but if I’m going to be fair to other albums on this list I have to be. I like the chemical brothers. I like that they created electronic music that wasn’t necessarily designed for the club and exit planet dust falls into that style. There are some decent songs on this album (‘leave home’, ‘song to the siren’, ‘chemical beats’), most of which take inspiration from psychedelic rock music, but these are decent but not mind blowing. Beyond that, there seems to be a reasonable amount of filler and doesn’t have the consistency of something like ‘dig your own hole’ or (my personal favourite) ‘surrender’.

very techno. i can appreciate this would be amazing for someone and i do think they’re good, just really not my vibe

aint my thing. I like Alive Alone tho

Brought the underground rave EDM to the main stream in the mid 90s. I enjoyed their next album more back in the day, but this one set the stage. It gets a bit repetitive, but the beats are foundational to the genre.

enjoyable tunes to work to Would I listen again: Yes Deserves to be on this list: Probably 4.2

Reminded me of the soundtrack to a video game but in a good way.

The beats are interesting and good on this album, but the repetitiveness of it all just wears on me. Not bad but certainly not great.

It's got that 90s electronic sound that I prefer to hear when I listen to electronic music which is almost never. But if I did, this is what I'd want to hear. It's perfect background music for doing monotonous work tasks. And I get that electronic music deserves to be represented here, but it's kind of hard to listen to Dark Side Of The Moon the other day and then listen to this and think they're somehow mentioned together in any kind of way.

Känns som att man är en med i en tecknad serie på MTV från 90 tal eller tidigt 2000 tal. Men inte riktigt min cup of tea, 2.5/5

Nope

Was excited for Chemical Brothers to appear but I liked this a little less than I was expecting. While a few of the tracks felt a little samey with a similar funky groove, there was enough diversity throughout the rest to keep me hooked. Standout tracks for me were: “Song to the Siren”, “Chico’s Groove”, “One Too Many Mornings”

Maybe I'm old fashioned but this kind of music sucks. It sounds like music from a sci-fi movie, and not a good one. I can respect the craft that went into making it but I certainly wouldn't put it anywhere in this list.

excellent eletcro stuff as usual

Noise

The Chemical Brothers have been incredible producers right from the start. If only everyone had heard this album when it first came out. It was a game-changer, so unique and way ahead of its time. Their beats are like nothing else, with a raw, unpolished production style that brings out tons of color and texture. Think breakbeats fused with neo-psychedelia, plus influences from house, rock, hip-hop, and just about every genre under the sun.

Debut de un trío imprescindible de álbumes para definir la música eléctrónica de finales de siglo. En este está todo lo que luego se expandiría en Dig your own hole y Surrender. Song to the Siren fue su carta de presentación. El ¿batacazo? de los U2 de Pop (que venían de joyas como Achtung baby y Zooropa) se debe a este y al de The Prodigy, desde entonces no han levantado cabeza.

3.5 stars. Enjoyed this a lot. Not much stood out for me but it had great sounds, good beats, fun and energetic and good for working along to. Would happily listen again.

not a big beat fan, it is what it is

I’m just going to keep recycling the same review every time we get an electronic music album…I hate electronica and no album is going to change my mind on that.

A decent house music band, but once again I don’t find anything special about the album of the day. The beats are good and there is use of some synthesized effects that work with the tracks, but overall it’s just “blah” for me on this one.

At the supermarket, there is one aisle I never go down. It has the dog food and the baby food - admittedly a strange pairing - but since I don’t own either, I don’t visit. Plus, it smells unclean. Listening to this album is like walking down that aisle. There is nothing there I want or need - everything they have here is for made for others. I understand what it is and what it’s there for, but I don’t have any use for it. This project is clarifying that there are so many styles of music out there and I simply don’t give two shits about some of them. This is one of those.

Lixo (Translation: Portuguese for trash)

as a background noise - sure. but other than that idk what the purpose is

Racing game music

kapoot salud

They should write a second or third song

Soooooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!!

I liked it!

3 sterne

Haven't listened to this one in a while. It's great but not as great as Dig Your Own Hole. I absolutely love the first and last song, but find the bits in the middle hit and miss.

Instrumental isn't really for me but I can see myself spinning a few in the background whilst doing other things.

Very extremely 90s

This was fine. If I was into the British House, or BIG BEAT, movement I'd probably really enjoy this. Front to back it's kinda like a 90s action thriller soundtrack, which The Chemical Brother . . . checking Google . . . HAVE done (for the film Hanna from 2011. Not quite 90s). Anyway, decent album but I can't recall a lick of it

this was not for me.

Very cool hypnotic grooves and beats. Just makes you move. Not what I’d typically listen to, but this is great.

I mean it's just beats and nothing else 😏

One of my preferred instrumentals I guess? No hey boy hey girl though is it!

It's annoying and repetitive, and hard to even tell where one song ends and the next one begins. Pass. Best song: Alive Alone

Vibes of a big Guy Ritchie montage. Good variety and fun listen.

This is the musical definition of a safe pair of hands. Absolute solid 40 mins or so.

helt greit

repetitive but it had their bops for sure

Trash, this isn’t music it’s pressing buttons.

relevant at the time it was released, but if I am listening to music w/o vocals I'd rather stick w Basie and his big band (interesting how they were side by side in the lineup) of actual musicians than hear soulless techno

Some nice grooves but essentially a one trick pony. The songs run into each other and you can barely distinguish one from another. Hard to call them musicians when they don’t play any instruments. They’re essentially DJ’s.

This reminds me of a bird’s life. It appears chaotic and full of energy. Nests must be built, territory protected, and a suitable mate found for babies. Up early, push through, zip back and forth finding food and bedding materials. It appears exhausting but delightful all the same!!!

The block rocking beats are here. The builds and breakdown as well. The foundational tones (so many squiggles). The oscillators - in full effect. . It's good and all. They really go to town on an idea. Ideas they would refine in years to come - funkier groovier zanier years to come. 3.5 stars.

i guess this was fun to listen to, electronic and mildly entertaining but i didn’t really care at the end of the day

75

Nostalgia time for this geriatric raver. 30 years ago when it came out I was dancing to this record. It holds up and will shake the dust off your ass. Although repetitive as electronic can be when consumed in album format, there are undeniable rumpshakers on here. Chem Bros are it.

old school electronic just has such a cool vibe to it. loved this album

I appreciate the DBs, but shit gets tiresome

Loved every minute of that

Super pace and great sound to this album. New to me but definitely worth a listen. Probably would sound even better live.

This was very good background music for me while I worked. I can't imagine another scenario where I'd put this album on.

Pretty Funky Techno beats for 1995. Favorite beat was Three Little birdies down beats. Probably inspirational but can get repetitive

This album flip flops between being a great Tony hawk skate soundtrack and making me feel like I'm in a drug trip in a movie. Very well written drum beats, hypnotic and repetitive. The first half ended up sounding very samey, due to each track flowing into each other. I typically enjoy when albums do this, but since it's so bare Bones, it led to each of them feeling quite similar. It was interesting to hear the songs halfway through, when they were able to experiment more, but these also typically fell a little flat for me. The last song on the album had me the most hopeful, since this is the one and only song where the artists actually sing. I have nothing against this album, but there's not a ton to grab onto for me. I'll probably listen to this again next time. I feel like I want to be at a rave

4.0/10

Terrible repetitive noise.

The first real emergence of the chemical brothers. Better work was to come. This is largely one good soon "leave home" and a lot of plinky plonky button fiddling nonsense.

Just not for me. Monotonous

Definitely not my style of music, however, I can see how it would be a total vibe for some people.

Fin troppo elettronica

#192/1001. The story went something like this: “We’ll be the Dust Brothers! No… Well it wasn’t wise to use the same name as our inspiration, we need an exit plan, exit from planet dust!” On a lecture on music vs sound art the teacher talked about music made only with ‘sounds’ instead of instruments and played Block Rocking Beats as an example. Although they were in no way pioneering this kind of production (and also neglecting to call bass lines, synths and drums as music), ever since listening to the Chemical Brothers I am spotting the sounds, wondering about sonic collages, ways of layering sounds to create compositions in the new world. Here’s the sonical journey seems to travel song to song, like adj gig in a club, inviting singers towards the end to finish the gig in style. Good start for the Brothers, but more bangers are yet to come.

My husband tells me that, when he was in high school, his friend Sam used to drive up to their hangs with The Chemical Brothers playing loudly through external speakers on his pickup truck. Maybe that’s the right setting for listening to this type of music. I am not Sam, nor do I have a pickup truck with external speakers. I am also not a teenage boy. All of these could be reasons why I didn’t like this endless drivel.

You can't actually expect someone to sit down and listen to a full album of this kind of music. It's hard to resist the the urge to dance. But I did and I liked the album. Still a banger all these years later. You don't get this kind of fusion of instrumentation in today's electronic and club music.

Now I might be a little biased, being from Manchester and growing up as a fan of the 90's rave music we got up North. I was also really into the Wipeout games made locally with this style of music, including stuff from this album. Almost all bangers.

Reliable stalwarts of the British electronica scene of the mid 90s, this is a great debut album. The first six tracks flow into each other as a coherent set, with some great beats and carefully chosen samples. It’s obvious a lot of thought went into this as a showcase for their talents, and still sounds impressive given that they started developing these tracks using a humble Atari ST home computer. They also featured on the massively influential soundtrack for Wipeout on the original PlayStation which cemented their reputation with the cool kids and computer nerds. The rest of the tracks feature guest vocals from Tim Burgess and Beth Orton showing they are capable of putting songs together as well as killer dance tracks. This album will definitely be getting a repeat listen today.

Continua atual.

Son un buen grupo para verlos en directo con sus juegos de luces y demás. En la disco también. pero no merece la pena escucharles en casa.

A really fun record but gets a little one sided. Glad I listened. If I need to get some of this type of music into my blood stream, this is the record I want.

Well I really enjoyed, and that’s all I kind of ask for when an album I don’t know comes on here. That it makes me want to listen again, and not because I feel it must be better with a second listen but like in this case I just damn enjoyed. At the tale end of 2025, and if you would have asked me 30 years ago if I would have liked the Chemical bro album better than rock albums from the time or since I wouldn’t have believe it, but there you are. As some say banging (??). 4 Star