NEW SURVEY START!
FREUR - Doot-Doot
When I say I'm covering Underworld sans-Emerson, I mean all of it, even pre-Underworld!
'Tis true, Karl and Rick got their start long before #House music was even a thing (much less #ProgressiveHouse). This being peak #80s, we're in firm #NewWave territory here, of the slightly pretentious #ArtRock variety. Lots of fancy-for-the-time studio tricks and whatnot, but it's mostly charming, harmless stuff. A couple tracks even hint at club-ready potential.
FREUR - Get Us Out Of Here
Ridiculously rare, apparently, only seeing limited release in the lands of Dutch, and no proper re-issues ever since. Can it really be that bad? Not really, but it ain't that good either.
Whether you liked it or not, you couldn't deny this band was artfully pushing some #NewWave boundaries in their debut. This album is about as generic of mid' #80s #SynthPop as it gets, with Karl's, erm, unique cadence way overcompensating for the lacking sonics surrounding him.
UNDERWORLD - Underneath The Radar
Finally getting into Underworld proper-like ...only not. Yeah, we're still firmly in #80s territory, more a continuation of their last Freur album than anything folks would recognize from them. Frankly, aside from Karl's distinct vocals, I hear little that isn't a pastiche of other #SynthPop and #Rock groups of the decade (New Order, Thompson Twins, and Trevor Horn come readily to mind).
That said, some songs were ace in getting my 'sportsing montage' on!
UNDERWORLD - Change The Weather
A lot more #Rock than I was expecting. It's still very much #NewWave, just heavier with prominent guitar action from Rick.
Beyond that... yeah, just copying what similar bands had done to death by the end of the #80s. It's fine for the genre, but doesn't stand out from the pack either. Music that can play in the background, be passively enjoyed, but leave little lasting impression.
Funny to think this could have been the end of the Underworld saga...
UNDERWORLD - A Hundred Days Off
Something something the #90s happened, and over a hundred months later, Karl and Rick are now at the forefront of clubbing culture (thanks, Darren!).
Unsurprisingly, the duo don't shake their successful formula up much, mostly sticking to their identifiable Cool Groove of #ProgressiveHouse and #Techno. A mostly mellow album, with a few 'artful' #Downtempo pieces, and only one real obligatory 'banger'. Methinks they have other musical aspirations going forward.
UNDERWORLD - Riverrun
Now we're in proper freeform musical expressionism. You knew it was lurking in the minds of Karl and Rick, just never given an opportunity put it out there. Even here, it seems they weren't sure an audience existed for these studio sessions, limiting them to downloads on their website.
Some of it sounds like interstitials, b-sides or the DNA of an Underworld tune that never grew, but other pieces easily stand on their own. Think 'Environments' FSOL, as done by Underworld.
UNDERWORLD - Oblivion With Bells
I keep thinking this should be some Orb-parody album called 'Orblivion In Balls'. Anyhow...
Yeah, Karl and Rick have definitely left the club behind them, the music on here very chill, groovy, and, dare I say, song-orientated. It honestly feels more #NewWave than anything #Techno, even if there's still some rhythmic pulse closer to the realms of #House and #Dub.
I do like hearing this side of them tho', plus plenty of Karl's stream-of-conscious lyrics again.
UNDERWORLD - Barking
A proper dance album? Oh dear, Karl and Rick haven't been on the pulse of clubland for nearly a decade now. What do?
Send out demos to a bunch of hot, hip acts, I guess, including Dubfire, High Contrast, and Mark Knight. Boy if these tracks just sound like those producers, only with Karl singing and Rick guitar jamming overtop.
If you like your #8thNote #Prog and #LiquidDnB, you might like this, but as an Underworld album, I'm just not feelin' it. Where's the Cool Groove?
KARL HYDE - Edgeland
Underworld, as a band, went on hiatus, leaving the two members to their own devices. Rick went off to work with Danny Boyle, while Karl carried on making music on his own. Well, with Eno-associate Leo Abrahams on the production side.
And as expected, this is a very artful collection of songs. Tenuously in the #IndiePop vein, though I hear shades of Freur in here too. Really, this sounds like the direction Underworld was going regardless, before 'Barking' happened.
ENO • HYDE - Someday World
Why settle working with an associate of Brian Eno when you can collaborate with the real deal? Never mind the odds 'n sods projects, the two are together at last.
No, really, this seems like a *way* overdue pairing, having both come up through the glam/Roxy side of early #NewWave. In fact, some tracks sound like long-lost Freur songs with Eno at the console. Mostly tho', it's a (then) contemporary New Wave album, with some vintage Underworld vibes as seasoning. Nice.
ENO • HYDE - Half Life
Why settle for one album when the creative fires are still cookin'? Keep the momentum going, so much so, that this LP came just a few months after the last!
And yeah, there's some pretty cool #NewWave jams on here, but 'Half Life' kinda' feels disjointed too, genre hopping all over the place. It wasn't the case, but I can't help but get 'b-sides' vibes from it.
Still, that final cut finally gives us the #Ambient #ArtPop tune I'm sure everyone expected from this pairing.
UNDERWORLD - Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future
Solo aspirations and collaborations sated, Karl and Rick reconvene after half a decade to get back to some proper Underworld vibes.
No, seriously. Unlike 'Barking', which didn't sound much like an Underworld record at all, this one re-captures their vintage Cool Groove atmosphere and stylee, the couple token nods towards festival anthems skillfully restrained. I wonder if Eno taught Karl a trick or two?
Easily their best LP of the #2010s.
UNDERWORLD - Drift Series 1: Sampler Edition
Hold the phone...! *This* could be their best release of the #2010s. The whole thing is a six-CD, 49-track box-set, with multi-media material attached. Goodness, I don't have the 'sportsing' stamina for all that. Here's a tidy LP-length sampler of all those sessions, then.
And yeah, this some nice Underworld #Techno, played in a minimalist fashion. It's like those Dubfire produced tracks from 'Barking', sans Dubfire stripping out the Cool Groove.
ALBUM RANKING TIME!
1. ENO • HYDE - Someday World
2. Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future
3. Oblivion With Bells
4. KARL HYDE - Edgeland
5. Drift Series 1: Sampler Edition
6. Riverrun
7. ENO • HYDE - Half Life
8. A Hundred Days Off
9. FREUR - Doot-Doot
10. Underneath The Radar
11. Barking
12. Change The Weather
13. FREUR - Get Us Out Of Here
Some thoughts:
- the full 'Drift' collection might rank higher if I gave it a full listen
- or maybe it'd rank lower, burning me out with its nearly 7 *HOUR* runtime
- surprised to find so many fans of 'Barking' out there; thought for sure that'd be an album folks would consider a "betrayal" or whatever
- was kinda' hoping some of their older obscure stuff would yield a few gems, but no, they remain rightfully forgotten
- shockingly, the less like Underworld they sound, the less I like them
Sykonee
Symbolix