Album Review: No More Idols by Chase & Status

Roni Size may have won the 1997 Mercury Music Prize, while Goldie's Timeless may be considered one of the decade's most innovative dance masterpieces, but for all its critical acclaim and unquestionable credibility, the '90s drum‘n'bass scene never really produced a breakout star in the same way that garage (Craig David), grime (Dizzee Rascal), or big beat (the Prodigy) managed to create. Apart from M-Beat's 1994 hit "Incredible," drum‘n'bass artists never really threatened the Top Ten, and by the end of the decade, the whole genre appeared to have retreated back into the underground where it came from. However, since Pendulum's 2005 debut, Hold Your Colour, the sound has witnessed a surprising renaissance, a development capitalized on more than anyone else by London duo Saul Milton and Will Kennard, aka Chase & Status, whose accessible blend of frenetic beats and pop hooks on debut album More Than Alot led to production duties on tracks for Rihanna and others, a far cry from their humble bedroom DJ beginnings.

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Agreat deal has changed for producers Saul "Chase" Milton and Will "Status" Kennard in the couple of years since they released their debut album. More Than Alot reached No 48, which was not bad for a drum'n'bass album on an indie label, but nothing to shake the world off its axis. You could have said the same thing about its contents. They audibly weren't the most original producers in the drum'n'bass firmament – you did wonder a bit at the eureka moment that led them to open proceedings with a breakbeat take on a Lalo Schifrinesque theme, an idea drum'n'bass producers have been having regularly since about 1996.

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In the dustbin of humanity you will find Saul Milton and Will Kennard – two dullards guilty of producing the most offensive sub-music since [a]Kosheen[/a].Making the kind of vacuous dumb’n’bass backdrops that have made [a]Pendulum[/a] a band synonymous with shiteness, this London duo have enlisted a heap of likely goons (including Tempa T) and some shameful appearances from folk that should know better ([a]Dizzee Rascal[/a], [a]Cee Lo Green[/a]), in a bid to cover up their electronic ineptitude.Despite Cee Lo’s vocal guidance ([b]‘Brixton Briefcase’[/b]), you almost black out from the terribleness before coming to and realising you’re too good for this soulless nonsense.[b]Ash Dosanjh[/b] .

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A whirlwind of an album, always keeping the listener on their toes. Mike Haydock 2011 Saul ‘Chase’ Milton and Will ‘Status’ Kennard are about to become household names with this, their second album. After moderate commercial success with their debut, More Than Alot, the pair of production wizards decided to shift their sights upwards. Having conquered the underground dance scene, they were now looking to the mainstream.

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