Underworld:
Barbara Barbara We Face a Shining Future:
Universal:
LP/CD:
Out Now:
Some five and a half years after their superb dancefloor-conquering album Barking, Smith and Hyde revert to type with an album of lengthy anthems that rely mainly on insistent nagging rhythms rather than hands to the lazars.
I Exhale sets the tone with eight minutes of minimalist artful lyrics, a pumping uncompromising 4/4 beat and no verse, no chorus just some huge widescreen drone. There's more of the same on If Rah, albeit slower and sparser - Underworld keep their eyes and ears on the dancefloor without losing track of earlier work such as Beaucoup Fish or Oblivion With Bells.
After another full-on club banger in the form of Low Burn, Barbara Barbara takes a turn for the quiet on side 2 (the second half, for CD and downloaders). The Sergio Leone-esque Santiago Cuatro is a splendid slice of atmospheric electro-acoustic virtuosity that evokes images of dustbowls, rattlesnakes and campfires on an open plain, rather like Blueski from Second Toughest in the Infants, while Motorhome is as blissed out as say Best Mamgu Ever or Sola Sistem, retreading similar ground to their soundtrack works like Breaking and Entering.
There isn't a dud moment on Barbara but if you're hoping for full-on beer-swilling dance anthems then head straight to Born Slippy and stay there. Underworld remain sophisticated trailblazers with subtle build-ups and pulsating acclamations aplenty.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Barbara Barbara We Face a Shining Future:
Universal:
LP/CD:
Out Now:
I Exhale sets the tone with eight minutes of minimalist artful lyrics, a pumping uncompromising 4/4 beat and no verse, no chorus just some huge widescreen drone. There's more of the same on If Rah, albeit slower and sparser - Underworld keep their eyes and ears on the dancefloor without losing track of earlier work such as Beaucoup Fish or Oblivion With Bells.
After another full-on club banger in the form of Low Burn, Barbara Barbara takes a turn for the quiet on side 2 (the second half, for CD and downloaders). The Sergio Leone-esque Santiago Cuatro is a splendid slice of atmospheric electro-acoustic virtuosity that evokes images of dustbowls, rattlesnakes and campfires on an open plain, rather like Blueski from Second Toughest in the Infants, while Motorhome is as blissed out as say Best Mamgu Ever or Sola Sistem, retreading similar ground to their soundtrack works like Breaking and Entering.
There isn't a dud moment on Barbara but if you're hoping for full-on beer-swilling dance anthems then head straight to Born Slippy and stay there. Underworld remain sophisticated trailblazers with subtle build-ups and pulsating acclamations aplenty.
★★★★★★★★☆☆