Concord Dawn’s description of their sound on MySpace as “a perfectly executed train wreck” is not what I would use to describe their fourth album Chaos By Design. Perfectly executed maybe, but never a train wreck, particularly as the album sees the Kiwi duo expand beyond their original hard, fast drum and bass sound to also explore some more downbeat sounds.

Most of the tracks on Chaos By Design are still squarely drum and bass. There’s the melodic sounding drum and bass of Chloroform and You Don’t Have To Run, and the high impact, frenetic assault of One Night In Reno and Aces High (with contributions from Devin Abrams and State of Mind respectively). Fly Away Home is a slowed down, vocal track (“maybe I’m going blind, I just can’t seem to find the way home”), but this is offset by intervals of distorted bass.

The album features more collaborations than on previous Concord Dawn albums, whether vocals or otherwise. Man For All Season, a less fierce, but still fast-paced drum and bass number, features the vocals of Paul McLancy, whilst the final track on the album, Say Your Words, stars the chanteuse Hollie Smith.

One of the more downbeat, less drum and beat moments on the album comes courtesy of Never Give Up On Love, with Salmonella Dub’s Tiki reprising his role as vocalist from Don’t Tell Me on the last album. Not surprisingly, the track has a dub feel to it. Another chilled out moment occurs on the interlude Lost At Sea, whilst the opening track, Broken Eyes, while not exactly being downbeat, is a surprisingly rock-influenced electronic number, ala some of Infusion’s recent work.

And just like Infusion’s releases, Chaos By Design has a live sound to it, that coupled with the large amount of vocal tracks, makes me want to see it performed live. Hopefully it’s not too long before Concord Dawn return to our shores for a repeat performance of their April shows.

And just as an appetiser for all their Australian fans, the Australian release of the album includes a bonus mix CD, entitled The Chaos Mix, which includes tracks off Chaos By Design as well as previous releases including the hits Don’t Tell Me and Morning Light.