[holden]

Yeah, fine, the Uk'ers get a free Cd with "Swoon" and previously released material - a good cross-section of their catalog, but by no means their best.

Oh, but June's official release can't come soon enough! I'm more excited for this release than for the past two.

In 1998, i arrived late to the party and bought "Dig Your Own Hole". It was awesome, so i soon got "Exit Planet Dust". It scored my summer.

In 1999, i hoped for the best and "surrender" happened. It was different, but in retrospect, it was genius. More integrated, more pastoral, still rocking in spots.

In 2001/02, "it began in africa" announced tbe arrival of a new LP, and it was not to disappoint. Gone were most block-rockin' beats, but the album fit the CB mold of guest vocalists and psychodelic-electro. It was relentless.

In 2003, we got Singles. Nothing really exciting but a few more collabs - with "get Yourself High: we had an awesome video. With "Golden Path" we got a Flaming Lips reject/CB's b-side and harbinger of collabs to come.

In 2005, "Push the Button" appeared...i was none too enthused by Q-Tip, Bloc party or any of the collaborations. Sure, "Believe" and "Surface to Air" are classics, as are a few other cuts, but this was the first Chems record i sort of skipped through.'

2007 - "We Are the Night" - ooh, i tried hard to like this one, buying it the first day, as i had the previous couple LPs, and playing it over and over. Yes, there are a few ok tracks that remind me of the experiences i had around that time (hot summer ,moving homes), but mostly, i can't stand "salmon dance" and "battle scars" - other tracks like "modern midnight coversation" are just embarassing. i like the liv easpect to the title track, but mostly this feels like the CB's backing up the flavor of the month

2010: Escape Velocity and Swoon - while by no means my favorite Chemicals tracks ever, i've learned to love a lot of promo singles that didn't impress on first blush (e.g. "Hey Boy Hey Girl"; "It Began In Africa"). And the hope that there won't be guest vocals, or at the very least it will be a continous mix/instrumental/psychodelic really gets me ready!!