No Geography

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No Geography
Studio album by
the Chemical Brothers
Released12 April 2019 (2019-04-12)
StudioRowlands Audio Research, Sussex, England
GenreElectronica
Length46:44
Label
ProducerThe Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers chronology
Born in the Echoes
(2015) 		No Geography
(2019) 		For That Beautiful Feeling
(2023)
Singles from No Geography
  1. "Free Yourself"
    Released: 28 September 2018
  2. "MAH"
    Released: 7 January 2019
  3. "Got to Keep On"
    Released: 1 February 2019
  4. "We've Got to Try"
    Released: 8 March 2019
  5. "Eve of Destruction"
    Released: 11 June 2019

No Geography is the ninth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released on 12 April 2019 by Virgin EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Astralwerks in the United States.[1] The album features vocals by Aurora and Japanese rapper Nene.[2][3] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Background[edit]

The album's name was announced in November 2018.[4] The album takes its name from a line in the poem Geography by the New York poet Michael Brownstein, whose reading of it is sampled on the title track.[5]

The album's cover is an image taken from the booklet of the 1977 album Consequences by Godley & Creme.[6][7] The artwork is that of a motorway or autobahn from the point of view of the rear of an early British Chieftain main battle tank turret; looking out over the gun, behind the commander of the tank, toward the empty highway ahead. The 'cloud face' on the cover of 'Consequences' is visible in the sky.

Promotion[edit]

The first single, "Free Yourself", was released on 28 September 2018,[8] with "MAH" (Mad as Hell) following on 7 January 2019. Music videos were filmed for both songs.[9] On 1 February they released the third single, "Got to Keep On", accompanied by a music video directed by Michel Gondry. It since served as a theme tune for the BBC's television coverage of Glastonbury.[10] On 8 March, the Chemical Brothers released the fourth single, "We've Got to Try", accompanied by a music video.[11]

To support the album, the duo embarked on North American tour dates in May 2019,[12] followed by European and Australian concerts later in 2019.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[13]
Metacritic79/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Consequence of SoundB+[15]
Clash9/10[16]
The Guardian[17]
Exclaim!7/10[3]
Mojo[18]
musicOMH[19]
NME[20]
Pitchfork8.0/10[21]
Rolling Stone[22]

On the review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, No Geography gained an average score of 79, indicating "generally positive reviews", based on 20 reviews.[14] Thomas Smith of NME said the album is "another leap forward" for the Chemical Brothers.[20] Luke Pearson of Exclaim! expressed a lack of enthusiasm for the album's second half, yet ultimately left a positive review, stating "even b-tier work from the Chemical Brothers is worthy of interest".[3] Pitchfork stated the album blended "psychedelic sensory overload with riotous club bangers" and said "the shape-shifting electronic duo’s ninth album is their most entertaining in years."[21]

Year-end rankings[edit]

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Afisha Daily (Russia) The Best Foreign Albums of 2019
18
[23]

Track listing[edit]

Vinyl and CD release[24]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Eve of Destruction"
  • Edward Simons
  • Thomas Rowlands
  • Aurora Aksnes
  • James Calloway
  • Leroy O-Neil Jackson Jr.
  • Nene
4:40
2."Bango"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Aksnes
4:07
3."No Geography"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
3:09
4."Got to Keep On"
5:16
5."Gravity Drops"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
4:30
6."The Universe Sent Me"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Aksnes
6:03
7."We've Got to Try"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Richard Pegue
3:35
8."Free Yourself"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Diane di Prima
4:21
9."MAH"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • William Michael Lewis
  • Laurin Martin Rinder
5:35
10."Catch Me I'm Falling"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Simon Philip Raymonde
  • Stephanie Dosen
  • Mike Hanks
5:28
Total length:46:44
Japanese edition bonus tracks[25]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Fantai"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
6:48
12."MAH" (Electronic Battle Weapon Version)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • William Michael Lewis
  • Laurin Martin Rinder
7:52
13."Got To Keep On" (Extended mix)
7:05
Total length:68:34

Adapted from No Geography liner notes:[24]

  • "Eve of Destruction" incorporates a sample of "Weekend" by Class Action
  • "Got to Keep On" incorporates an interpolation of "Dance with Me" by Peter Brown
  • "We've Got to Try" incorporates a sample of "I've Got to Find a Way" by the Halleluiah Chorus
  • "Free Yourself" incorporates a sample of "Revolutionary Letter 49" by Diane di Prima
  • "MAH" incorporates a sample of "I'm Mad as Hell" by El Coco
  • "Catch Me I'm Falling" incorporates samples of "Bears on My Trail" by Snowbird and "A Letter from Vietnam" by Emanuel Laskey

Charts[edit]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[26] 17
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 19
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[30] 31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31] 26
French Albums (SNEP)[32] 48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 18
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[34] 32
Irish Albums (IRMA)[35] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] 35
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[37] 13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[38] 19
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[39] 29
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[40] 19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[41] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[42] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[44] 4
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[45] 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "No Geography by The Chemical Brothers on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b Yeung, Neil Z. "The Chemical Brothers - No Geography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Pearson, Luke (11 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers - No Geography". Exclaim!. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. ^ Bruce-Jones, Henry (19 November 2018). "The Chemical Brothers announce new album No Geography". Fact. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  5. ^ Bein, Kat (12 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers 'No Geography' Track-by-Track breakdown". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Where have I seen that before?". Rockmine’s Archive Log. WordPress. 5 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Mr Blint's Attic: Sleevenotes". www.suppertime.co.uk.
  8. ^ Slingerland, Calum (28 September 2018). "The Chemical Brothers Return with 'Free Yourself'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  9. ^ a b Cook-Wilson, Winston (7 January 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – 'MAH'". Spin. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  10. ^ Gray, Julia (1 February 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – 'Got To Keep On'". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  11. ^ Breihan, Tom (8 March 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – "We've Got To Try" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  12. ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (19 November 2018). "The Chemical Brothers Announce New Album No Geography and Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  13. ^ "The Chemical Brothers - No Geography". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Reviews for No Geography by The Chemical Brothers". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  15. ^ Flynn, John (19 April 2019). "Album Review: The Chemical Brothers Dance Towards the Apocalypse on No Geography". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  16. ^ Bradbury, Sarah (11 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Clash. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  17. ^ Simpson, Dave (12 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers: No Geography review – revitalised back-to-skool anthems". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  18. ^ No Geography bears testimony to superior crate-digging chops, cut-up skills and disco. [May 2019, p.86]
  19. ^ Hogwood, Ben (12 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". musicOMH. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  20. ^ a b Smith, Thomas (11 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – 'No Geography' review". NME. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  21. ^ a b Fitzmaurice, Larry (12 April 2019). "The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  22. ^ Dolan, Jon (11 April 2019). "Review: The Chemical Brothers Beats Are Still Big on 'No Geography'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Лучшие зарубежные альбомы 2019 года" [The Best Foreign Albums of 2019]. Afisha Daily. 26 December 2019.
  24. ^ a b No Geography (liner notes). The Chemical Brothers. Virgin EMI. 2019.
  25. ^ "ノー・ジオグラフィー[CD]" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 16.Týden 2019 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2019. 16. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  35. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Chemical Brothers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  36. ^ "Italiancharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  37. ^ "No Geography on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-04-22" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  39. ^ "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  40. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  41. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  42. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  43. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – No Geography". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  44. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  45. ^ "The Chemical Brothers Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
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