Underworld's latest effort is not only stunningly good, but also even more musically complex than some of their previous work.
Underworld, which is composed of the trio of vocalist/guitarist Karl Hyde, DJ Darren Emerson, and "studio virtuoso" Rick Smith, makes music that is starting to catch on even in the United States, where electronica is largely unappreciated. Underworld is somewhat known to American audiences through their song "Born Slippy" that appeared on the soundtrack to the popular British film "Trainspotting." Unfortunately, Underworld is known for a song that is not nearly as intricate as any of the songs on their newest release, "Beaucoup Fish."
Underworld has even progressed beyond their previous album, "Second Toughest of the Infants," which also contains significantly less layering of sounds than "Beaucoup Fish." The songs on "Beaucoup Fish" are more consistently dark and more complex than their earlier works.
Underworld is a true techno act, much more talented than Fat Boy Slim, one of the only DJ artists who has recently gained popularity stateside and has received radio airplay -- a great feat for an electronica act in this country. Its songs take on many diverse forms and styles, from emulating 1980s pop to Prince to incorporating a portion of an old Donna Summer song. This is not cookie-cutter techno.
The opening track on "Beaucoup Fish," "Cups," is a good introduction to the album. It begins slowly and quietly, drawing the listener into the song until the beat starts 50 seconds later. "Cups" has layers that appear and disappear, only to reappear when you have forgotten that they ever existed. The epic 11-minute length of the song provides a particularly good example of the style of Underworld's music. Like many of the songs on the album, "Cups" almost takes on the form of a piece of classical music with themes and variations on themes. The song finishes as a completely different piece of music than it was when it began.
A great dance song on the album is "Push Upstairs," the second track. The song's tone is dark, much like the whole of the album. The song sounds frantic with a fast beat and layers that build and subside. Listening to this song in the car turns an average drive into a video game, where one can dodge traffic to the beat of the song.
One characteristic that differentiates Underworld's music from rock music is that lyrics do not seem to play a major role in their songs. The lyrics are mostly nonsensical and often only appear to serve the function of an added layer of sounds. Underworld treats the human voice as just another instrument that is thrown into the fray.
The only song in which lyrics really add to a song is on the last track, "Moaner," which was previously released on the soundtrack of the film "Batman and Robin." The lyrics are clearly articulated and discernable, which is not the case for most of their tracks. Indeed, most of Underworld's lyrics are obscured, which seems to downplay their importance. Even when the lyrics can be understood, they make so little sense that they do not seem to add anything to the song.
In "Moaner," the vocals are more emotional than usual and they contribute a sense of urgency to an already darkly pulsating song. The lyrics clearly describe abandonment, making the song more conventionally understandable than other songs on the album.
Another song, "Shudder/King of Snake," incorporates portions of Donna Summers' song "I Feel Love," but has been morphed into a song that refers to snake fighting, as a spoken portion at the end of the song indicates. Critics have singled out this song, the only upbeat one of the bunch, as the likely dance hall favorite, with its pounding bass line and steady beat. However, the beat is unrelenting and almost too strong. Additionally, the song is less interesting than others on the album because it does not change much over its duration. Rather, it begins with an aimless sounding guitar until the beat starts and the song remains much the same throughout.
The middle of the album takes on a more subdued tone than the other songs on the album, which have predominantly fast tempos. "Winjer" and "Skym," the fifth and sixth tracks, respectively, are still as dark as the other songs, but are quieter than the others. "Winjer" is almost hypnotic with a subdued melody and a fast beat. "Skym" is very slow and includes echoing vocals and has the effect of sounding like it was recorded in a tunnel.
The eighth track, "Bruce Lee," has equally nonsensical lyrics and the beat of a song that is more typical of Prince and the New Power Generation then Underworld. The vocals in this song are spoken to the rhythm of clanging chains like in Prince's "Gett Off."
"Beaucoup Fish" is one of the most worthwhile albums to be released in quite a while. Beyond being able to admire the complexity of the sounds and layering of them, listening to the album is a true pleasure.
