Let’s discuss any and all music here. Got a new artist who’s rocking your boat that you want to talk about? Post a video! Found out about that unearthed Coltrane album that has the jazz freak in you losing your mind? Lay it out for us! Have a theory about what your favorite band might do for their next album? Let’s hear it! Anything and everything music-related goes here.

This week’s discussion prompt: Which artists have never let you down? That is to say, which artists have never once put out a disappointing or bad release (in your humble opinion)?

First of all, a bit of a disclaimer and explanation. When I say that Underworld has never let me down, I am talking about to what is often referred to as the “Mk2” version of the band, when they reformed after the original line-up (featured in the header image video) disbanded in 1990. And I’m not referring to this either.[footnote]Though relistening now, I’m kind of enjoying this track for what it is (“doot doots” and all) – digging the overly long “ambient” intro, and lots of weird sounds throughout what is otherwise a kind of typical eighties-sounding pop song.[/footnote]

But from the time the reformed line-up (consisting of Karl Hyde, Rick Smith and new member Darren Emerson) released Dubnobasswithmyheadman in 1994 to the current day, Underworld’s output has been solid.

I first discovered the band like many a North American who mostly listened to rock-based music up to that point via the film Trainspotting. “Born Slippy .NUXX”[footnote]Most people leave off the .NUXX part, but without it you get an earlier, inferior version of one of the greatest songs of the nineties[/footnote], which is undoubtedly their best known and most iconic song, is featured prominently in the film and is one of the highlights of the soundtrack. After getting my head around this newfangled “electronica” music, I picked up Second Toughest in the Infants, which at the time was their most recent album, and loved it! Then in 1999 we got Beaucoup Fish, which push comes to shove might be my favorite Underworld album, with loads of standout tracks, plenty of variety and even at 74 minutes long not overstaying its welcome. 

Emerson left the band in 2001, and by the time the remaining duo got around to releasing A Hundred Days Off  in 2002, I had moved on to other things as well – in those post-Napster/pre-YouTube days buying CDs or records was still one of the only ways to hear a lot of music, and there were only so many albums one could afford to buy at a time. Since I ended up spending much of the aughties diving deeper into other genres (post-punk, krautrock, reggae, dub, afrobeat, garage rock, etc.) while also still trying to discover new artists, getting yet another album from a band I already owned several by wasn’t a priority when there was so much other music to explore.

When I did eventually pick up a used copy A Hundred Days Off in 2009, I really enjoyed it and had it in heavy rotation for a while. And then I mostly forgot about Underworld again, revisiting the albums I already owned every so often but not even thinking to check out their newer stuff – that is, until a few years ago I found a gently used copy of their 2016 album Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future in the used racks for a ridiculously low price and bought it on a whim. And it’s absolutely brilliant! Still recognizably the same band yet no mere retread of their previous releases, Hyde and Smith smoothly integrate new sounds into their music to create a beautiful and at times poignant album that isn’t merely good for a new album by an established artist, but a genuinely solid album that deserves to be considered among their best work.

Over the past three years I’ve filled in the missing gaps, picking up Barking (2010) and Oblivion with Bells (2006), and I feel confident that anyone who likes Underworld’s other albums will not be disappointed – while Oblivion in particular received lukewarm reviews at the time of its release, it’s important to keep in mind that those reviews came at a period when “electronica” was at an ebb in the music world (and thus critics were more inclined to be dismissive of or indifferent to it), as there is still plenty to enjoy.  

As always, any and all music-related posts are welcome. Have fun, and rock out with yr guac out!