Album reviews

The Chemical Brothers

`Further'

(Warner Music Korea)

Since 1991 Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have been mapping the electronic-music landscape for artists to follow. In their seventh studio album, the duo returns to maintain that classic quality of strong beats, interspersed with the just-ripe quirks that define them (try the fantastical whinnying sample on ``Horse Power'').

A special DVD released in conjunction with the album showcases a video for each track _ by Adam Smith and Marcus Lyal _ but visuals are almost unnecessary with the smooth dance numbers with lulls of soothing synth (``Snow''). Avoiding the eclecticism of those indie groups emerging onto the hybrid techno/hip-hop field, The Chemical Brothers stays purely in the realm of the electronic, keeping their music simple, clean and solid.

_ Ines Min

Pendulum

`Immersion'

The third album of the electronica six-piece Pendulum certainly makes an effort of sorts. The 15-track release uses a range of techno, heavily mixed with artists such as Cocoa Tea and other bars that will seem distantly familiar within a drug-induced haze of a rave.

Known for their entertaining live shows, the album will make its listeners long for the dance floor _ nearly every track has something catchy in it. At the same time, cheesy, alt-rock vocals (``Left with no reason we come undone'') serve to remind that Pendulum's drum and bass beats are fun enough, but only as a cringing, awful, guilty pleasure.

Jessye Norman

`Roots: My Life, My Song'

(Sony Classical)

When Jessye Norman gave her third concert tour in Korea last year, the international star soprano showed that she still had it _ charismatic vocal power and a joie de vivre that lit up the stage and drew the audience into the music.

The 64-year-old offers fans a two-CD album that shines upon her illustrious career. The first disc features an eclectic array of African drum mixes as well as a spin on the Duke Ellington classic ``Somewhere.''

The second CD features French songs including Bizet's operatic jewel ``Habanera'' and atmospheric jazz numbers. Norman provides interesting introductions to each song.

_ Lee Hyo-won