by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Perhaps it's unfair to label the Crystal Method as an American Chemical Brothers, since they are contemporaries of, not successors to, the English duo, but the comparison makes sense. Like the Chemicals, the Crystal Method is into big beats. There isn't much subtlety to their music, but there doesn't need to be, since their heady fusion of classic, late-'80s hip-hop, rave, techno, and rock is intoxicating on its own. Vegas, the duo's debut album, rushes by in a quasi-psychedelic blur, occasionally stopping for ambient detours. There aren't any revelations along the way, but the Crystal Method does this crossover techno well, which makes Vegas a pleasure.