Track Listing
1. Juanita
2. Banstyle/ Sappys Curry
3. Confussion the Waitress
4. Rowla
5. Pearls Girl
6. Air Towel
7. Blueski
8. Stagger
| Details | | Distributor: | Phantom Import Distributi | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Underworld: Karl Hyde, Darren Emerson, Rick Smith.
Underworld's position in the budding electronic universe is unique: Each of its songs is as much a pop tune as a deftly sculpted rhythm track. Not the usual three-minute pop, but interwoven epics that develop over twice the length, using rhythms and loops rather than verses and choruses as building blocks. On SECOND TOUGHEST IN THE INFANTS (a nod to the hardships of sophomore outings), Karl Hyde, Rick Smith and Darren Emerson create a haunting new language built of dub, ambient, techno, jungle and rock textures, all set to a bass-heavy pulse. And even that fails to describe the dark, dreamlike atmospheres that the trio creates.
First off, there are the rhythmic overdoses. The opening "Juanita," clocking in at an epic 16 minutes, features layered, percolating percussion that rides an incessant techno throb down a highway into a psychedelic sunset. "Rowla" takes a punky, distorted-beyond-repair keyboard loop and drops it in the middle of the dance floor, where it roars like the Tasmanian devil. Most unusual of all is "Blueski," a three-minute instrumental that slows the pace around a bluesy slide-guitar loop, evoking a late-night scene in a parallel universe. All these sounds are parts of Underworld's expansive domain, unified by the aforementioned pulse and the search for more of it.
Editorial Reviews
...This is no dumb-bass dance music. Underworld know how to expand the frenzy of techno and jungle and then retreat to an ambient cool... - Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly (04/26/1996)
8 (out of 10) - ...smooth of touch, sleek of footing and downright slippery of rhythm, the anti-Green Day trio breezily persevere in their quest for Western groove domination...
NME (03/09/1996)
Recommended - ...Underworld are modest/cynical/smart enough to borrow jungle's finest trademarks...
Melody Maker (03/09/1996)
Ranked #37 in NME's 1996 critics' poll.
NME
Ranked #5 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's Albums Of The Year.
Melody Maker
...This is no dumb-bass dance music. Underworld know how to expand the frenzy of techno and jungle and then retreat to an ambient cool... - Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly (04/26/1996)
Ranked #96 in Mojo's 100 Modern Classics -- Everything with Underworld is in the detail -- never has the introduction of a hi-hat seemed quite so exciting.
Mojo
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