Fans of Chase and Status will know the duo’s distinctive electro-dance sound and shouldn’t be disappointed by this latest offering. However, the album is noticeably darker than the band’s previous work. Brand New Machine does what every album should – it provides some crowd pleasers, packaged up with some tracks specifically for the hard-core fans, weaved together with a strong concept.

The first half of the track list focuses primarily on war and conflict. The first two tracks, 'Gun Metal Grey' followed by 'International', sound how I’d imagine a war to start and develop. Chase and Status are skilful in their ability to drop moments of calm into the general chaos that they have created. In particular, if you find yourself able to listen to 'International' from start to end (no mean feat), you’ll enjoy a rather bizarre "Cindies moment" in which the song suddenly jumps back and forth between two completely different sounds. 

The more mainstream numbers are scattered through the album and download popularity ratings are already demonstrating a marked difference between the two types of track. 'Lost & Not Found', the single featuring Louis M^ttrs, is predictably the most popular track on the album – and not without reason: it shows off Chase and Status’ ability to appeal to the mass market without completely losing their own identity.

I can imagine plenty of people will habitually skip many songs in this album, so would recommend sticking to individual songs if you like to download your music.

The album does become slightly repetitive towards the end so it is a relief that the duo’s final track in the standard edition of the album ('Alive' featuring Jacob Banks) sounds suitably distinct from those directly preceding it. There was a risk this album could fizzle out after 56 minutes; 'Alive' provides an alternative and well-written conclusion to a fairly good album.