Rock music is becoming more and more derivative with every new Sugar Ray single and Nirvana sound-alike band spat into the already glutted sewer pipe of the pop music market.
More and more people are searching for sounds which break away from the clichs and traditions of guitar, bass and drums. To this end, computer-generated music might be able to save us from the likes of Matchbox 20 and the Bare- Naked Ladies.
English-based Underworld is one of the leading bands in the electronica craze. It is techno for people who think they hate techno. The repetitive beats and harsh, bleepy timbres of typical computer- generated music make some people cringe, but Underworld's sound is far from typical.
Accessible without being insulting, the band members are great representatives for their genre that have the talent and ability to find a core audience outside of their genre.
While Underworld came out of the techno dance club scene of the early 1990s, its music is equally influenced by jazz and rock, producing a dark, dreamy, brooding sound that is palatable to ears uninitiated into the cult of techno.
"Beaucoup Fish" is Underworld's latest release, out this month in stores under the band's label, JBO. Previous to "Beaucoup Fish," Underworld released two albums in the United States, along with two remix albums. Electronica fans and critics alike were awed by Underworld's last two offerings and subsequent remixes.
"Beaucoup Fish" is every bit as stunning as its predecessors, darkly brilliant and completely captivating. Every track drips with almost palpable sexual tension.
The trio of musicians, vocalist/guitarist Karl Hyde, studio "genius" (according to Underworld's website) Rick Smith and DJ Darren Emerson first gained notice in England in 1993 with their dance tune "Rez."
Rez's quirky, jumpy energy quickly became a popular act amognst the club-going set in London, and soon Underworld became known as a band to look out for. It has lived up to its promise.
In 1994 Underworld signed with Wax Trax!, a label which normally signs industrial bands like KMFDM. Underworld's first album, "dubnonbasswithmyheadman" was followed up a few years later by "Second Toughest in the Infants," yet it wasn't until the "Second Toughest" remix album "Pearl's Girl" that the group began receiving the kind of attention it deserves.
"Beaucoup Fish" is similar enough to its predecessors to satisfy an Underworld fan's need to hear more of the same material, and at the same time the album is experimental enough to keep it interesting from start to finish.
"Cups," the first track off the album, opens with a looped sample of stringed instruments playing a descending chord progression, which is soon overlaid with a synthesized bass line.
The two bits of music at first seem hopelessly irreconcilable, but as soon as the melody comes in, both strains are beautifully and dynamically tied together.
"Cups" is followed by "Push Upstairs," the first single off of "Beaucoup Fish." "Push Upstairs" demonstrates Underworld's ability to seamlessly mix traditional instruments and computer generated sound.
"Push Upstairs" includes a piano and a throbbing, computerized bass. The tension between the grainy computer noise and the delicate voluptuousness of the jazz piano infuses the tune with a hypnotic and haunting power.
This momentum is sustained for the duration of the album. Other standout tracks are "Bruce Lee" and "Kittens," but the whole record is enjoyable.
Computer music aficionados and techno neophytes alike will find "Beaucoup Fish" a fascinating and captivating album for all music fans. Underworld's latest is worthy of their cannon and may be the best album of the year so far.
Underworld is on tour now. The group will be in New York on April 21 and Detroit on the April 24. "Born Slippy," its breakthrough single, can be found on the "Trainspotting" original motion picture soundtrack.
