Second Toughest In The Infants

English electronic albums from the 90s be much shorter challenge

I Didn't Finish Listening For Personal Reasons.

Finally, my LAN is set up, day-glo Ethernet cables connecting the humming servers everyone had brought over, and everyone has found the patch to Starcraft allowing for local play. Thump thump thump thump diggy thump thump thump thump diggy goes Second Toughest in the Infants, as we enter a Mountain Dew-powered trance state...

Does anyone like techno?

This is the kind of music you hear in those goth techno underground parties that is truly the stuff of nightmares. I will never recover.

Second Toughest In The Infants continues the successful string of three masterpieces in a row that started with Dubnobasswithmyheadman and continued with 1999s Beaucoup Fish. This is brighter than Dubnobass but also edgier and harder in sound. The album cover art sets the general mood of the album. The shades of blue display its moody feel and its ambience. The splattering of different shades of blue on the cover and in the booklet displays the albums chaotic sounds. Extremely challenging & intelligent music. This is not for the narrow-minded.

Leaves me utterly cold. I don't know in what circumstance one would wish to engage with this, thus I can't even slap the 'music as function' label on it. This is seriously something I needed to listen to before the sweet embrace of the crypt? Really?

Love underworld. I am a little bit surprised that we didn't have dubnobasswithmyheadman or Beaucoup Fish, but hey. I've listened to SGitI no more than a handful of times in the past decade, so let's put it on. As I sit here, I am becoming increasingly impressed. As the music builds, I find myself wondering about the Americans who don't have even the first clue about what "second toughest in the infants" might mean. It isn't all killer, no filler though. There's quite a bit of dull on here, and that does stand in stark contrast to dubnobasswithmyheadman. But it's good enough to get 5 stars, even if it is too long.

Man, I expected to hate this and I absolutely did not. Is it repetitive? Well, yeah. I mean... it's techno. What did you expect? But it's damn good techno. Layered, complex, interesting, compelling. Makes a mean GSD background playlist for work, I'll tell you.

Less dance floor fillers than Dubnobass but a much more diverse album with a great flow. From big breakbeats to slide guitar, drum ‘n’ bass and even a gentle psychedelic vibe, there is so much to admire and appreciate on this ambitious album. A long but effortless listen.

This album has moments of straight techno which melt into new wave and atmospheric rock. At times, the album is danceable and at others, ponderous. The way that the music constructs and deconstructs is interesting and adds to the simmering quality of some of the tracks. Overall, really enjoyable if a touch too long

Starts slow and picks up at the backend, but also suffers from bloat heavily.

This sounds like the background music to a YouTube video. Nothing of redeeming value here. And I don’t just hate techno cause I love kraftwerk

"Second Toughest in the Infants," is the fourth studio album by English electronic music group Underworld. This album released in 1996 and falls under the following genres: techno, progressive house, progressive trance. I am all about trance and techno, fueled thanks to late 90s/early-to-mid 2000s video game soundtracks, so I'm really excited to be jumping into this genre. This album opens with its longest track, "Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love" at 16 minutes and 36 seconds. It is comprised of three tracks, per Wikipedia, "...which features all three parts intersecting each other at various points during the piece; hence, the use of colons instead of slashes..." This song opens with techno beats that make you want to nod your head/reflect/go clubbing. Hauntingly harmonized vocals pop in at 1 minute and sound distinctly robotic/nonhuman. This long track has moments where you can feel a transition of power as the songs morph into one another, with really fun beats, piano, vocals, and repetition carrying it along. The next track, "Banstyle/Sappy's Curry," clocks in at 15 minutes and 22 seconds. It reminds me of a snythy, bloopy beat I would hear in Sonic the Hedgehog or Tekken Tag Tournament. Vocals come in at around 1 minute 45 seconds that are much less robotic and more human than the previous track's offerings. The ambient tone with funky guitar work at around 6 minutes was really enjoyable and took me away into a slight state of flux. I sense this album will become a new record to work to for me. By the end of this track I could not believe how wonderfully lost I became. "Banstyle/Sappy's Curry," is the perfect background song. The third track on this album, "Confusion the Waitress," opens with a steady drum beat, followed by synth notes and an added trance beat to the drumming. There's a lot of beepy noises and spooky "she said" vocals. This poor, confused waitress. Track number 4, "Rowla," offers more electric chaos. Bass/guitar tunes over a steady beat remind me somewhat of a heartbeat, giving this track a life of its own. There is some fantastic work happening in this song that sounds like lasers flying off into the night sky. I love it. Next up on this album is "Pearl's Girl" at 9 minutes and 36 seconds. This is a steady track with really cool electric noise over a steady beat. This track was also featured in Gran Turismo 6 on the PS3, which makes entirely too much sense. Track 6, "Air Towel," features more steady synth notes and percussion. There is some dancing of sound going on between my left and right headphone, giving this track a very cerebral sound. Just another great song to concentrate to. Track 7, "Blueski," is the shortest song on the album, at 2 minutes and 55 seconds. It's a pretty consistent track of repeated guitar pluckery. It doesn't have a beat, but it's still easy to move your head to. Short and sweet. "Stagger" is the final track on this amazing collection of ambient wonder. This track features more vocals and lyrics than any of the other songs on this album, with a snippet reading: "The naming of killer boy Everything's going west, nothing's going east straighten There's no need to be so uptight straighten Make up for all their messes I could listen to you all day What a laugh, cut me I bleed like you, ha ha" The meaning is vague, though it seems to invoke a feeing of confusion or inebriation. A fitting end to this album. I was so very pleased with this album. I felt my mind flow away in a river of thought during my time with this collection of music. I can't wait to listen to it again, and again, and again! Favorite track: Banstyle/Sappy's Curry Honorable mention: Rowla

Top tier. The dance act all other dance acts secretly wished they were. This album doesn't even have their two vest songs on either.

La semaine dernière, je vous partageais les découvertes que j'avais faites au sujet de Jim Morrison. Je vous apprenais entre autre qu'il n'était pas décédé à vingt-sept ans comme cela a été relayé par la presse. Après une nouvelle sortie à la bibliothèque, j'ai fait de nouvelles découvertes dont une qui devrait particulièrement vous intéresser. Nous sommes le 26 avril 1986 dans une petite ville paisible appartenant alors à l'URSS. Comme tous les matins, les employés de la centrale nucléaire située dans ses faubourgs se rendent au travail. À leur arrivée, aucun problème n'est à signaler. Le jour est à la bonne humeur, les collègues échangent des sourires, l'un d'eux a même appris la veille au soir que sa femme était enceinte et se réjouit d'annoncer la bonne nouvelle à tout le monde. Seul petit hic à l'horizon, tous sont d'accord pour dire qu'il fait un peu frisquet dans le salle de contrôle. Wolodymyr, le technicien en charge de la maintenance, s'en va regarder l'état du chauffage et découvre que le thermomètre affiche seize degrés au lieu des dix-huit habituels. Le problème est vraisemblablement lié à un surplus de poussière dans l'un des tuyaux. L'opération nécessite donc un simple nettoyage à effectuer au niveau du radiateur central. N'ayant pas les outils adéquats à disposition, Wolodymyr appelle un dépanneur. Quelques minutes plus tard, un homme vêtu d'une salopette en jean et d'un crayon derrière l'oreille gauche s'annonce à l'entrée de la centrale (vous aurez reconnu Jim Morrison). Il vient réparer le chauffage. Le service de sécurité le laisse entrer. Une dame est ensuite chargée de le guider vers la salle de contrôle où il rejoint Wolodymyr qui lui indique l'emplacement du système de chauffage Sa boîte à outil ouverte, Jim Morrison s'accroupit, attrape un câble, le sectionne avec ses dents, puis un deuxième, en intervertit trois autres et souffle ensuite très fort dans une prise électrique. Il ramasse ses affaires et s'empresse de sortir de la centrale. Une dizaine de minutes plus tard, le réacteur explose, entraînant ce jour là à Tchernobyl la plus grosse catastrophe nucléaire jamais recensée.

Suite aux récentes decouvertes fracassantes de mon camarade d’écoute robpellemèle sur l’illustre Jim Morrisson, je me suis moi aussi enfermé à la bibliothèque afin d’effectuer quelques recherches. Ce que j’y ai découvert va complétement dans le sens des trouvailles de rob, mais laissez moi vous raconter. Nous sommes le 22 novembre 1963, quand Jim Morrison, équipé d’une salopette et d’un crayon derrière l’oreille (vous l’aurez donc reconnu, étant donné que je viens de donner son nom), sort de son domicile et s’installe au volant de son véhicule. Son itinéraire, il l’a bien étudié toute cette semaine, il se rend donc à l’hôtel où siège son client du jour. Arrivé devant l’hôtel, le client est bien présent accompagné de sa femme, et s’empresse de monter dans le véhicule après un « bonjour » poli et rempli de charisme. Jim commence alors à rouler doucement dans les rues de Dallas, afin de mener son client à bon port, sans prendre le moindre risque sur la route. En effet, Jim vient tout juste d’endorser ce nouveau métier de chauffeur privé, et après de nombreux échecs professionnels, il tient à mettre cette fois toutes les chances de son côté. Soudain, deux coups de feu retentissent, et des hurlements se font entendre. Jim se retourne, et retrouve son passager étendu sur la banquette, deux trous de balle sur la poitrine, sa femme paniquée. Ce passager, vous l’aurez reconnu – et ce malgré qu’il ne porte pas de crayon derrière son oreille – c’était John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35ème président des États-Unis d’Amérique. Jim tentera bien de faire un massage cardiaque au pauvre John, en pressant fermement son poing sur les blessures béantes de ce dernier, mais cela n’eut pour effet que d’accélérer l’hémorragie, et d’ainsi précipiter un peu plus Kennedy vers son tombeau. Jim Morrison avait donc commencé à opérer bien avant de simuler sa mort en 1971 comme mon camadare robpellemèle l’a récemment découvert, mais que d’autre nous cache Jim Morrisson ?

I can see how this sort of thing fits a movie soundtrack or a passive activity like video gaming, but there's no way you can tell me that people actually put this on (with a clear mind) and actively listen for 75 solid minutes. This is decent background music at best. And not one, but TWO 15+ minute songs at the front of the album???? getthefuckouttahere... Banstyle isn't bad but it needs to be about 10 mins shorter. Blueski is cool.

nah dude. like jam band deep house no fuckin thank you.

It’s over. Nobody listens to techno.

I've been primed for Underworld by a few soundtracks, and Second Toughest delivered. I'm not quite sure what to think of it: It's not quite perfect, but every track makes me itch to get inside it, tricky as that is. I had the same experience with Autechre, who I now hold in high regard but know little about. Does that say more about me than the band and the record? Likely, but the record is a great techno project, eight sonic crystals that could easily keep going and going and going (but would that ever overkill the runtime).

One of the best electronic music albums of all time.

"Cryptic lyrics" doesn't really seem to convey how odd the lyrics in this album are. They feel like stream-of-consciousness lyrics mixed and matched in with odd choices which serve to add to the instrumentality. Overall I've found myself enjoying the rhythms in the songs, which have some rather nice beats to them. Specifically "Pearl's Girl" is great in this aspect. "Sappy's Curry", the second half of the second track in the album, in particular, hits a very neat note with the instrumentals and a wonderful backing rhythm that I found myself enjoying, and I wish it was a song by itself. Stagger also has a very good sound together with the voice work, and it was a surprisingly enjoyable listen. Overall a very odd album from a genre I do not listen to much, but overall enjoyable despite IMO a weak and extremely confusing opening track.

Couldn’t listen past the second song. This ain’t my thing

Ufff not my cuppa. Couldn't finish it

Didn't like. COuldn't finish

Artistically speaking, in general, it's difficult to justify extending the length of a piece of music past the ten minute mark. That's even true with classical music, which obviously has more content than most popular music, which is why most sections in classical music rarely last more than ten minutes. The first two pieces on Second Toughest In The Infants are over 15 minutes and this is dance music, which by its very nature tends toward repetition and lack of content. But before I get into criticizing this artistically, let's talk about its intended function. Could you dance to this? Yes. It's hypnotic. None of the musical textures are nauseating, which has to count as some sort of accomplishment in the dance music environment of the last 30 years. I could imagine, in the right circumstances, say in a packed club, allowing myself to be swept away into the mindlessness of it all and gyrate endlessly in a sea of humanity. So, it succeeds on that level. But how about artistically, as a pure listening experience? The first song, Juanita, is pretty much a dead loss. The beats, rhythmic development, and sound world, while not actively unpleasant, are almost completely devoid of interest. The 2nd tune, Banstyle, is much better. It's built on a simple two chord vamp, which thankfully has a pleasant timbre. The rest is layered rhythms. Ever so slowly, the vamp shapeshifts into a single chord. Within this extremely limited scope, Underworld crams in an impressive variety of textures, both acoustic and digital. The effect is a little like looking through a microscope at a drop of water, teeming with bacteria. It's only a drop of water, but there's a whole world in there. I could see where this might work if you just wanted to zone out or let your mind wander, but it doesn't rise to the level of being truly interesting, like We's As Is. It turns out that Banstyle is the best that Second Toughest In The Infants has to offer. Confusion The Waitress and Rowla spin minute variations on 1 or 2 bar themes. It's reductive, maddening, and boring beyond belief. Second Toughest In The Infants isn't an album. It's an endurance contest. I give up. Underworld wins.

I was SO bored. Kept waiting for the drop but it never came.

Most repetitive album I've heard so far. If you've heard 30 seconds, you've heard the entire song. Holy shit, they do not need to be 15 minutes long. I'm sure it would make sense in a rave setting where I wanted to mindlessly dance all night. But in the car, it does not hold my attention at all.

Maybe I didn't have the right amount of Molly.

Very out of my depth. I have never heard of this band and certainly am very unfamiliar with anything this deep in the techno realm. A very long record. Not really for me, pretty relieved when it was done and I could listen to something else.

really not my kind of music i hate to keep rating things like this as i was hoping to "broaden my horizons" but i couldn't get through this album

I don't recall 1996 being such a dull year for music that including this uninspiring and really bland techno album in the list would be even remotely warranted. But there you go. 1/5

Loved it! not their best album either, but still very good!

Very nice discovery!

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They don't make stuff like this anymore. Acid tinged, hard edged house beats on the opener with a hypnotic melody that enters in the last third. Then we change tack, and Ban style starts with ambient breakbeats. Sappys Curry leans closer to rock, but with a psychedelic keyboard solo in the second half. Dense and very atmospheric. Then Confusion the Waitress has bleepy synths and a steady kick drum. Pearl's Girl is the biggest 'hit' on the record and it makes me wish I was at a warehouse rave in the 90s. Air Towel pulls from Detroit techno. This really covers a lot of ground.

Pleasantly surprised! I’ve had a lot of issues with 90s electronic music on this list, but this album was right up my alley. Felt like techno and house sounds approached with a prog mindset.

AWESOME!!!!!

Driving in the car, this album kind of faded into the background, as tends to happen to music of this genre. However, listening with earphones a second time revealed much more, and I really appreciated it. Very cool, sophisticated techno with interesting touches. I really liked it.

One of the best so far. Played it three times.

One of my favourite EDM albums of all time. Untouchable from a production perspective, plus, Pearlsgirl is my favourite Underworld album too so 5 stars is a no brainer.

Sensational album on its own but ranking the re-issue with the addition of Born Slippy brings this up to a clear 5/5.

Genre defining, ground breaking etc

I didn’t recall ever hearing of Underworld before, although I’m told I must have heard one of their other songs on the Trainspotting soundtrack. Then I realized I knew their song Cowgirls from the Hackers soundtrack. After listening to this album as well, I’m pretty sure that I probably danced to their music on many occasions. “Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love” is an incredible opening to this album. Instantly grabbed me and I knew this would be a real ride! By 15 minutes in I had decided this is some of the best electronic music I’ve heard on this project, or maybe ever. Nearly an hour more of music was on this album. Great variety! Sometimes up dancing, other times just chilling in ambient cool. This journey had many exciting twists and turns. I was constantly engaged - pulled along on an electronic adventure. Absolutely fantastic!

Love them, all the releases in 90s are amazing

whoa

Great beats. Perfect music to crank out work. High energy, nothing out of place.

Great vocals and amazing production. Good variation in styles as well

What an absolute banger!

Great album

My jam

Very cool electronic album. Very 90s. Now a fan of Underworld.

Underworld can do no wrong, loved the album.

Great

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. 5/5

Heel goed een kende het niet!

Very good techno album. Highly enjoyable.

Fantastic album. I had heard Born Slippy .NUXX from Trainspotting and have listened to it countless times. So I was curious to hear what other work form Underworld would sound like. Like most ambient/electro/progressive house music, it's an acquired taste. To me, this is the soundtrack of 1996 nostalgia. I particularly the monotone drone vocals (I wouldn't quite call it singing) that you hear on Rowla, Pearls Girl, and Born Slippy. I can't help but hear Ewan MacGregor's "choose life" monologue when hearing Born Slippy.

just wow. the first two tracks each being 16 minutes long is a bit jarring. but this is a fucking journey.

Up against a deadline at work this morning and this is precisely what I needed to keep me motivated. All killer no filler.

Always happy to see some electronic stuff here. Underworld are fantastic. Intelligent proggy stuff that knows how to use ambient sections to make the heavy parts hit harder.

The naming of killer boy....Reverend Al Green...Karl Hyde's cut-up lyrics are an under-rated part of Underworld's armoury, along with his sometimes sung sometimes spoken delivery. This is an amazing album, showing how swiftly dance music was changing the musical landscape in the mid-nineties. Not since progrock had albums seen lengths like this: the first two tracks clock in at over 30 minutes, and the first has distinctly-named sub-sections, another prog move. All the tracks shift and alter evolve slowly - a bassline here, a hi-hat there, as melodies and Hyde's vocals emerge and subside from the central groove that anchors each (and made them such a mainstay of the 'DJ compilation mix' of the time). Apart from prog, an even better comparison is the minimalism of Steve Reich - imagine Music for 16 Musicians with a drum machine and you're halfway here.

One if my all time favorites, this is a very easy 5/5 for me, especially if you add Born Slippy to the end

cool

Hell yeah, good stuff.

In the second installment of their reinvention into techno/electronic mavericks, Underworld expand and explore even further on Second Toughest in the Infants. Throwing down the gauntlet with two back-to-back half-hour jams that best illustrated their affinity for heightened nocturnal experiences, they up the ante with an increased reliance of grooves that not only prepared the listener for what was to come but established Underworld as the kind of group that can implement rock-adjecent aesthetic with ease. This may be seen as the middle child in their 90s trilogy of classics but this is just as integral to the dance scene.

Vampire sex dungeon rave music. Its origin story.

Excellent.

The first few opening minutes had me dreading what this album might be, but I'm happy to be proven wrong. What a propulsive, dynamic, interesting electronica album.

This album grew on me massively, amazing stuff

Yes! Absolutely loving all the British electronica that is coming up on the list lately. Trippy and psychedelic, exciting and ravey but also oddly chilled? Made for great programming music unsurprisingly. This is definitely a record that I want to seek out. Favourite: Pearl's Girl

Just the sheer fucking density of the sound. Insane and incredible and awe-inspiring. Never moves like you think it's going to. At once utterly jarring and soothing, a Hell's Kitchen nightclub and a Bali beach at the same time. Music that makes you feel alive.

Bad. Ass. Shame this is the only Underworld on the list! Fave track - "Pearl's Girl" is storming! "Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love" is also awesome.

Amazing work

First Choice Album!

This is great. Smooth electronica with great beat and enough intrigue to keep your attention.

Everything I love about Underworld in one tight package. Too hard to choose a fave, they're all good.

What a great album (if you like trance/progressive techno, which I do)! This is something I would listen to when I am heads-down coding and love every second (of the music, not the coding). I'm giving it 5 stars since I still imagine I do heads-down coding. And I legitimately like the music. :)

Classic beats taking you back to better times.

Surprisingly good for its age, and incredibly fresh and innovative for an electronic album of this time.

Awesome electronic album - a bit long, but somehow it doesn't feel that way. It's got a punch and it's both atmospheric and also dance-y. I liked Underworld, but love this record.

Perfect industrial ambiance with a nice nice sprinkle of DnB

I FEEL LIKE I TOOK ACID AT A RAVE AND WOKE IP NAKED ON THE NEIGHBORS LAWN. BUT LIKE, IN A GOOD WAY.

A completely new band / album for me, and I liked it a lot! The heavier drumstep parts were a bit too much for me on a Tuesday morning, but the synthier elements were lush!

Is that EDM? I’m not cool enough to know but I think it was. It was fun. Good work music. Peppy but background.

Lovely - a nice throwback to a CD that kept me company for quite a while

P good

This was fun. Their beats would do well at coachella

Rating: 7/10

Havent listened enough yet

funky :)

House music

Bangin

Liked this way better than Fat Boy Slim, a contemporary. Instrumentation was interesting enough, and the occasional lyric helps move it along.

Super great for heads down music - aspects remind me of the matrix soundtrack

Enjoyed it but maybe a little long

I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. First song I was a little iffy on but the other more laidback tracks are really good and pretty impressive for 1996. Lots of danceable tunes on here which I had a good time with. 7/10

Lovely!

I like cool 90s Techno and I don't care who knows. Great music to work to, and probably dance to? Not great if you want to do a singalong.