For That Beautiful Feeling

For That Beautiful Feeling is the tenth studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released on 8 September 2023 through Virgin Records in the UK and Republic Records in the US.[1][2] It is the duo's first album in four years, as well as their first to be released by Republic in the US, as all prior American releases were via Astralwerks. In November 2023, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[3]

For That Beautiful Feeling
Psychedelic blue/orange swirls overlapping with green/yellow ones
Studio album by
Released8 September 2023 (2023-09-08)
StudioRowlands Audio Research, Sussex, England
GenreElectronica
Length46:58
Label
ProducerThe Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers chronology
No Geography
(2019)
For That Beautiful Feeling
(2023)
Singles from For That Beautiful Feeling
  1. "The Darkness That You Fear"
    Released: 23 April 2021
  2. "No Reason"
    Released: 17 March 2023
  3. "Live Again"
    Released: 28 June 2023
  4. "Skipping Like a Stone"
    Released: 21 August 2023
  5. "Goodbye"
    Released: 3 November 2023

Background

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The band announced the album's name and track list on 19 July 2023.[1]

The album was paired with a career-spanning retrospective book Paused in Cosmic Reflection published by White Rabbit on 26 October 2023. The book is made up of new interviews with the band, as well as many of their friends and collaborators from the past three decades, including Noel Gallagher, Aurora, Wayne Coyne, Beth Orton, Beck, and Michel Gondry.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[6]
Metacritic81/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [8]
The Arts Desk     [9]
Clash8/10[10]
Evening Standard     [11]
The Irish Times     [12]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[13]
musicOMH     [14]
NME     [15]
Rolling Stone     [16]
Uncut8/10[5]

For That Beautiful Feeling received a score of 81 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on nine critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] Uncut wrote that the Chemical Brothers "produce a whole lot of full-fat dance-pop joy" on the album.[5] Damien Morris of The Observer described it as a "nonsense-free reaffirmation of the dance duo's greatest strength – making largely instrumental psychedelic house and techno somehow sound like pop music".[17]

Track listing

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For That Beautiful Feeling track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"1:09
2."Live Again" (featuring Halo Maud)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
5:09
3."No Reason"4:52
4."Goodbye"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Robert Argyrios Gantzos
5:49
5."Fountains"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
3:45
6."Magic Wand"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Jerome Lenoir
2:27
7."The Weight"
3:44
8."Skipping Like a Stone" (featuring Beck)
4:43
9."The Darkness That You Fear" (Harvest Mix)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Willie J. Ellison
4:09
10."Feels Like I Am Dreaming"
6:57
11."For That Beautiful Feeling" (featuring Halo Maud)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
4:14
Total length:46:58
For That Beautiful Feeling (Japanese exclusive version) track listing[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."All of a Sudden"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
5:30
13."I Want to Know"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
3:56
For That Beautiful Feeling (Collectors Edition USB) track listing[19]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."No Reason" (extended mix)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Bailey
  • Borland
4:39
13."Live Again" (featuring Halo Maud; extended mix)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
6:37
14."Skipping Like a Stone" (featuring Beck; extended mix)
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
  • Hansen
7:15
15."All of a Sudden"
  • Rowlands
  • Simons
5:30

Personnel

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The Chemical Brothers

Additional musicians

  • Halo Maud – vocals (1, 2, 11)
  • Beck – vocals (8)

Technical

  • Mike Marsh – mastering
  • Steve "Dub" Jones – mixing, engineering

Charts

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Chart performance for For That Beautiful Feeling
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 70
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 65
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 48
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[23] 7
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 23
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 85
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[27] 45
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[28] 11
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[29] 33
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 65
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 16
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 6
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[34] 1

References

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  1. ^ a b Evan Minsker (19 July 2023). "The Chemical Brothers Announce New Album For That Beautiful Feeling, Share Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  2. ^ Peacock, Tim (8 September 2023). "The Chemical Brothers Return With New Album 'For That Beautiful Feeling'".
  3. ^ Minsker, Evan (10 November 2023). "Grammy Nominations 2024: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Paused in Cosmic Reflection: The definitive story of The Chemical Brothers". thechemicalbrothers.com. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling". Uncut. October 2023. p. 85.
  6. ^ "The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b "For That Beautiful Feeling by The Chemical Brothers Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  8. ^ Simpson, Paul. "The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  9. ^ Green, Thomas H (8 September 2023). "Album: The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ^ Harrison, Emma. "The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling". Clash. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  11. ^ "The Chemical Brothers - For That Beautiful Feeling review: the duo strike the perfect formula". London Evening Standard. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  12. ^ "The Chemical Brothers: For that Beautiful Feeling - Seamless, sweet psychedelia". The Irish Times. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ^ Todd, Chris. "For That Beautiful Feeling finds The Chemical Brothers on scintillating form". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ^ Wade, Ian (6 September 2023). "The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling". musicOMH. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  15. ^ Jolley, Ben (6 September 2023). "The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling review: electronic titans as future-focused as ever". NME. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  16. ^ "The Chemical Brothers 'For That Beautiful Feeling' review: electro pioneers remain at the top of the game". 7 September 2023.
  17. ^ Morris, Damien (4 September 2023). "The Chemical Brothers: For That Beautiful Feeling review – pure techno pleasure". The Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  18. ^ "ニュー・アルバム『For That Beautiful Feeling』が9月8日にリリース決定". 25 July 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  19. ^ "For That Beautiful Feeling Collectors Edirion USB". Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  20. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 18 September 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1750. Australian Recording Industry Association. 18 September 2023. p. 6.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Lista prodaje 37. tjedan 2023" (in Croatian). HDU. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Top Albums (Week 37, 2023)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 15 September 2023". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-09-18/p/5" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: September 18, 2023" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  29. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of September 13, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Chemical Brothers – For That Beautiful Feeling". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  34. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.