4 out of 5

Label: Trauma Records

Producer: Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley, Super_Collider (remix)

Yeah, yeah.  Y’see, I’m rating this based on its value as a single, ‘kay?  You wouldn’t own this if you weren’t a Bush fan, so eat it for scoffing.  Major label singles are generally trash, a dump of live tracks and pointless remixes that only the fannest of fans would care to rotate into their playlists more often than never, so it’s worth something when one of those trash baubles ends up being noteworthy in some way… such as the 10-minute super_collider (i.e. experimental funksters Christian Vogel and Jamie Lidell) ‘remix’ of the single, which is sooooo far from dance floor slub that I’m nigh astounded Gavin and crew (or whomever arranges these things) had the smarts to put it together.  This is a remix somewhat in name only, taking the lyrics from ‘Chemicals’ and perverting them into a sultry jam with plenty of distortions and noise odding it up for 8 minutes, before a hardcore beat explodes for the final couple minutes.  I’m sure better ears than mine can discern where bits and pieces have been stripped and taped together to make the mix, but either way the song stands completely on its own and is a compellingly interesting listen even if it doesn’t seem to offer much of a center on which to latch.  So one point in the positive column, and then another one for having an original track on the single that’s totally not a throwaway: ‘Homeboy’ has the same interesting blend of electronic and rock elements from the album and fits in with the moodier tracks ‘The Disease of the Dancing Cats’.

Definitely a rarity in the singles world – both non-album tracks here are worth a listen.  Thanks.