Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Hypnotic and greatly produced but long
Underworld falls prey to a common failing of 90s British electronic albums: good ideas are present, but stretched beyond the point where they seem fresh or interesting. Seek out the rerelease which features Born Slippy. NUXX, their signature song.
Lovely techno beats but I couldn't get into it...
3.4/5 90s electronic music ok for background
Good album but I wish the 16 minute songs were 3-4 separate ones. Clearly this is an electronic group so makes sense as to why the songs are longer, akin to a dj set with each flowing into the next, but as an album I think it's a missed opportunity.
A couple good grooves but too much of real club music for me. Not offensive but not really interesting.
Very wide departure from my typical listening fare, and it's good. It suffers through no fault of its own from my having been in far too many big-city hotel lobbies in the past decade or two from a lot of work travel: the group didn't intend this, of course, but, dang, so much hotel lobby music sounds like this. Setting aside that prejudice as best I can and just listening to this album, it's actually quite good. Curse you, hotel lobbies!
Sucesión de canciones con un cierto carácter mezcla industrial y electrónica. No excesivamente intenso. Se puede escuchar tranquilamente. Pocas voces en el disco
Not bad, some cool vibes and nice long songs to zone out to. I had fun but it didn't blow me away.
Idk how to feel about this one. It's nothing too crazy, and I usually dislike long albums, but this one was kind of different. I wouldn't sit down to listen to this, but I could play it in the background while doing something else and I would enjoy well enough. It also helped me fall asleep lol. Album cover: 2/5 nothing crazy
A good listen, though I have to say I find the intro track to be the most underwhelming one. I did enjoy the album more with passive listening. Great music to concentrate, quite atmospheric.
Freur / Underworld (with or without Darren Emerson) is a great electronic band of course. But why this album and not Dubnobasswithmyheadman? Maybe the latter is on the list too, but once again you get the impression that the composers of the 1001 list lost grip on the list at some point during the nineties.. (go for the big canonic albums from the previous decades, but pick arbitrary albums from later decades) Anyways: played loud on a decent hi-fi set, this album still sounds as great as ever. Really tried to like it at the time. However, it misses the synth-pop influences that its predecessor still had, and when not played very loud, the album becomes a bit boring.
I don't really go in for this dancey electronic house stuff, but I found this tolerable, even enjoyable at times. However, 70+ minutes of it is way too much, count me out.
Mid 90s Techno/House, sokay. I always think this is a boring listen at home, but at a club I'm sure it's a lot more interesting.
I knew Underwolrd primarily from their hit Born Slippy and 8-ball, which I both always liked a lot. Never took a chance to listen to anything else. Although my enjoyment went a bit down further down the album I definitely want to give it another listen later
i was not expecting this to be on the list, as to be honest i'd forgotten it existed which is bad form on my part as i used to have this on CD. i had also forgotten how long it is (giggidy). nowhere near as good as i remember, there are better underworld albums.
I was the first toughest in the infants, because I am Nigel Spackman and I'm fuckin' solid
16 minute songs - behave.
Pretty enjoyable, but not for everyone. I think I saw them at my first Big Day Out. Enough BPM to make you want to cede a fishnet’s stunning tooth.
This is a real late 90s throwback. I'd only heard Born Slippy before, so this was nice to fill out my knowledge a bit. But overall I found it a bit repetitive and slow.
One of the better albums I've listened here that goes for too long. Got a bit tired after Pearl Girl was finished. Great album otherwise.
Mid 90s electronic. I remember them from the Trainspotting soundtrack but never listened to anything else from them. Couple of bangers on there.
Yes
+++
Mumble core underworld with another album with a mixture of good instrumental driven and not so good vocal driven tracks.
Stagger tem umas ideias meio Neo
This is a tough album to rate as much of it is meant to be consumed on the dance floor.
Exactly how I would expect an underworld album to sound. I remember liking Pearl's Girl in my youth but not familiar now.
This reminds me of hanging out at truck stops and buying a bunch of ephedrine in the 90's then going to raves in Austin. Also, about that same time I thought Trainspotting was just about the best movie ever made. Though the music is dated and the tempo slides to the elevated mondo-ephedra side of the scale, there is still some good stuff in this. Though I'm sad to say that too much raving in the 90's has taken a toll and my heart only take this in 20 min. increments.
Who’s the toughest in the infants? Why are we bothering with the second toughest? I bet the toughest kid in infant school didn’t mess things up with over-long albums and annoying vocals that distract from some decent beats.
With this being the only Underworld album, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Born Slippy…the only track I’ve ever known by them. Born Slippy is incredible for 105 seconds. Once the synths go away and it becomes drum and bass dominated, I lose interest. Those 105 seconds were magnificent enough to get me semi-interested in Trainspotting, which is a feat. On to the album at hand: Banstyle / Sappys Curry has a pleasant atmosphere then ends with a flurry of quick, energetic synth runs. Rowla is a howla. Pearl’s Girl is a step back for me while the last three tracks come back around. The relevant conclusion is that I’m a sucker for well crafted synths. I’m very much on the fence and it comes down to the genre. This album is more of a house/trance vibe, and it’s a very good album in that genre, which 20…even 10 years ago, I would have been more into. Today, I can appreciate the quality of this album, but I’m not that into the genre. So I round down.
This was creative, interesting, and unique, but WAY TOO REPETITIVE. It made it feel like each song was 10 minutes long. Worth a listen, not worth a return.
Solid electronica. I find it interesting that most of Underworlds drums/backbeat all sounds the same. 3.5/5
honestly I forgot all of it
Nice progressive house/techno from the nineties. Not sure I have much to say about this, though. The thing is, I can't help feeling the writers of this 1001 albums list are a little misguided when it comes to niche genres or anything outside the realm of mainstream pop/rock. It's not that Underworld was an act unworthy of notice. It's just that, if you take into consideration the IDM scene of the last three decades, stuff from the Warp roster--to take one precise example--is criminally underrepresented by Dimery and the likes. I've seen the whole list of those 1001 albums. Where are the great records by Boards Of Canada, LFO, Aphex Twin or Oneohtrix Point Never? And even if you go beyond the realm of dance music for a broader take on electronica, there's still bands like Broadcast, PVT or Flying Lotus to take into account. And this is just from one label here. In my view, some of the earliest acts I've just quoted are sounding less dated than Underworld, and I'm pretty sure they were far more influent. The problem with forward-looking genres such as techno or house music is that, ironically, they quickly become a thing of the past. It takes a very indiosyncratic vision and a keen sense of originality to escape such a trap. Not everyone can be as prophetic as Kraftwerk, with their layers of self-irony, gracious minimalistic arrangements, and songwriting chops infused here and there. As I said, Underworld was a very decent act. "Pearl's Gate", for example, is a well-crafted drum'n'bass cut. "Blueski" is interesting as an ambient experimental loop. "Stagger", with its pop inclinations, is a nice closer. And in expanded editions, you have the iconic keyboard-riff-meets-boom-boom-extravaganza of "Born Slippy" (of *Trainspotting* fame). But where would I listen to any of these songs now? In a club? Nah, not groovy enough. In a dance music festival or a rave party? Nope, those "steady beats"--as one reviewer named them to describe half of those tracks--sound *way too steady* for both today. And here's the most important question: would you listen to this in your living room? No way for me, and I'm pretty sure that's the same answer for 90% of y'all. I can listen to groundbreaking electronic acts from 808 State to Jlin from an armchair and not feel ridiculous at all. But I'd feel a little daft having my speakers blare Underworld in my living room to be honest. Maybe in 1996 I wouldn't have. But in 2022? On a sidenote: Karl Hyde's daughter is playing in the amazing Black Country New Road these days. It's nice to see that one of the Underworld founders has passed the torch of his passion for music to his offspring, even if said daughter is using such passion for a radically different genre. The British scene has always been a great place for talented musicians, and since the last five years or so, it's been incredibly lively (especially now that we're finally out of that awful "landfill indie" era). But the last edition of *1001 Albums To Listen To Before You Die* was published in 2017 and it direly needs to be updated now, in my humble opinion. If I had a say, I guess I would take out Underworld to make room for the next generation. And I'm pretty sure Karl Hyde himself wouldn't hold too much of a grudge against me considering *some* of my choices. :) [Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 977 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 9 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 6 Albums from the list I will *not* include in mine (as I think many others are more important): 8 (including this one). Albums I might not be able to judge (some might end up on my final list if they're culturally important): 1]
Electro qui sonne pas pore mais 1h20, je me suis pas rendu a la fin. 3*
Buen disco!
good driving techno
Meh
Välillä rytmit veti hyvin mukaan ja sopi hyvin päivän tunnelmaan. Ei ihan huono
Meni mukavasti huomaamatta töitä tehdessä. Pitäis ehkä kuunnella vielä pari kertaa läpi, mut ei sit kuitenkaan ku levyjä rästissä ja ei se nyt niin mieleen kuitenkaan jääny
It was fine
The combination of existential mood and imaginative melodic collage is taken up here. (6/10) FT: Stagger
Rave on
Yeah not bad as far as electronic music goes. 3 🌟
pure edm each song is like 12 min not bad though
Underworld zou er goed aan hebben gedaan hun naam te wijzigen in Background; Perfecte achtergrond muziek om bij te werken.
Heel bezwerend album, waar je wel je aandacht voor moet hebben. Het is dance maar toch ook weer niet. Eerste paar nummers vond ik goed, daarna kakte het wel wat in.
Van een nummer kreeg ik fysieke verschijnselen :). Werd er gestresst van. Verder prima.
There are definitely times that the groove is infectious and you are thumping along with it, though it is strangely disappointing that the vocals are as uninteresting as they are. They seem to hold it back as opposed to elevating it. Overall an enjoyable listen.
Funcionou para ter mais referências de tecno/eletro.
Actually really enjoyed this - and enjoyed the resulting Spotify recommended playlist too!
I feel like this album might have been better if there were no vocals on it at all.
3, it was fine. To be honest I don't remember a thing about it a couple days later though...
I'm sure this album would score at least 1 spot higher if I still had a DJ set up to play it on. Pearl's Girl always sounded great in the clubs, but listening at home alone just doesn't have the same effect. Having said that, it still has me dancing around the place. It's impossible to keep your feet still to some of this.
makes me feel like a cyborg, actually i quite like it (juanita / kiteless / to dream of love)
Decent electronica album, not something i would mind listen to again, nor would it be something i actively searched for.
A grand ride! It really feels like proto-techno (and might be if I looked into the history). It seems purposefully inaccessible, but if given enough listen it sticks. Perfect for studying or gaming. Doesn't move me emotionally at all though.
if this didn't happen for me in 1996 it isn't going to magic itself now
Some nice techno house, not much else to say
The first song inspired me to work out, but the thrill faded fast.
interesting, but didnt feel a lot of cohesion in the album and fell off near the beginning
"Homeless trees gathering Outside your window bootleg babies call to you and lie among the mosquitoes That summers fever coming Cats are gathering outside your window" (Juanita/Kiteless/To dream of love) Fui a mirar cuánto del disco llevaba pensando que sería más o menos la mitad y estaba por la mitad pero de la segunda canción.
I like house music but it's not my favorite to listen to in album form. I like Underworld but I've never listened to a whole album by them. This album was good background music, though I would say it's my favorite :)
It's fine, but I don't remember much about it, here on Monday.
slorgggggh
Honestly all the EDM sounds the same to me. Maybe this is again particularly foundational but to me it probably could have been most anything in the genre.
Some really nice instrumental vibes here. Will return.
Electronic music, eh? Wants to be Moby? it was good, didn't get me excited though.
A few interesting moments but too techno for me.
6/10 FT: Pearl's Girl
This album makes me want to do pills
Boring
Its fine, but it gets repetitive by the end. And it is indeed, incredibly long.
este si es un album que podria escuchar aunque no sea mi estilo de música (obvio en un ámbito mas de fiesta y bajo efectos jaja)
An interesting mix of high energy, ambient, and jungle techno styles. I'm no expert and I was today years old when I first heard this album, but I'm enjoying myself so far. As it goes on it gets less appealing to me. It started out all "Ooh, techno finally!" and ended with me skipping forward in songs to see if the musical weather had changed (spoiler, it had not changed).
Thoughts before listening: Pretty sure this is techno. Review: Yeah...this is techno. The first 2 tracks are 32 minutes of repetitive beats. I'm sure this slaps on a headful of drugs at 2am at a rave, but at 1:30pm at my desk its kinda giving me a headache. I think I give the same review for all techno albums on here, but it remains how I feel. I wasn't into this music in the 90s and 00s when I was the target demographic, and I'm not into it now in my mid-40s. 2-stars
Pas fan de ce genre pour l'instant ou en tout cas pas dans le mood mais à réécouter pour sur.
Just can't relate
Same feeling as yesterday, although I like this one more because of its immersive dimension. It is less blank and I found myself tripping on tracks like Air Towels or Cherrie pie. Still, every track sounds like it could be on a Café del Mar beach bar compilation and I’ll propably never come back to it :)
Uk industrial is not for the faint of heart. I can’t do this. I had to run errands and ran the farthest I have in a while 6 miles yikes man it’s not terrible but it’s definitely not anything that is engaging for over an hour. It’s perfect club music meant to be mixed with other music. Long periods of silence it expects a lot of the listeners. While interesting doesn’t make me excited to revisit or have more. Where is the cool stuff. Does he know? I do like this a lot tho fun and chill
como eu disse na minha review anterior: msuica eletrônica só é boa quando tem influencia disco, ou seja, odiei esse album aqui. chatão.
It's......bad? But also very of its time and kinda good?
Punishingly long, the slog just grinds out any good I found to be honest. Why is everything so long, its not hitting some great build to something at the 8 minute mark, I could just repeat a 2 minute version 6 times and get the same song if I HAD to listen to it longer.
Not really for me..
Buena música para salir corriendo y escuchar otra cosa. Bien grabado.
It’s cool and moody, but I don’t think it’s something I’ll revisit much.
There were parts I genuinely liked but then they just dragged on and on and on.
2 / 5 Best: Banstyle / Sappys Curry Worst: Blueski Weirdest: Pearl's Girl Honorable Mentions: N/A Good music for hacking databases and saying "I'm in" after 30 seconds of typing. Maybe new and refreshing for electronic music at the time, but the lyrics are strange and it's a bit boring and repetitive.
#25 Repetetive and drawn out techno album. There are some good parts and sounds, but it is best used as background music.
Fave track: Pearl's Girl Born Slippy vibes
Interesting. Cool vibe don’t know if I would play it again
C'est long! J'ai pas écouté jusqu'au bout, pas trop mon délire et trop répétitif
Triple platinum at Dimery Laser Tag
I don’t want to listen to club/rave music when I’m not at a club or dance scene. These folks sound competent at what they do, but it’s just hard to consider this kind of album in the context of albums of songs and other music designed for critical listening. A 2.
i wish i could've liked this more but it was such a chore to get thru even as background music :/
I think that for any genre, albums of this length can get incredibly tedious if the tracks are also quite long. 'Dangerous' by Michael Jackson, for example, is of a similar length, but has many more tracks, which means variety and variation. With an album, especially one of this genre, having longer songs can become repetitive with no interesting features throughout. I can appreciate the sound they were going for in this, with the first track being quite enjoyable for me, but as enjoyable as it was, it started to become boring after around 5 minutes. The instrumental parts themselves were really nice to listen to in bits, and I suppose that the introduction of some vocals added some slight interest. Looking from another perspective, I can see why people would enjoy this, but I think it just isn't really for me. Favourite lyric: 'Your thin paper wings, in the wind, dangling.' ('Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love') Standouts: Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love Stagger Banstyle / Sappys Curry
Relatively tasteful for what it is, doesn't make me want to rip my ears off, but does nothing for me otherwise.
Dissappointing
No idea? Could be really fun, could be a horror show - some days I am there for the roulette, some days it makes me nervous, honestly. Feeling a little fragile today… so we’ll have to see… Um… why is this here? I mean I do like a dj compilation here and there, I like background tacks… in the background. Why is this album being given to me as a foreground listen? I wanted to give it a 3 for some interesting moments, but I am not feeling it today. 2 Boolean: no. Hell no. I did not need to hear this before my death. Maybe if I went back in time I could hear bits at a club while I was out with my “mates” but otherwise, no. NO
Way too long for being this repetitive.
I just don't get it. Like it's kind of cool if I was high as a kite dancing my tits off. But I'm high as a worm and my tits are very much attached.
It was moderately interesting, but nothing I will return to. Occasionally interesting, otherwise repetitive. I'm not sure how dancy it is... I don't have the experience to know how I might feel hearing this in its intended environment.
No me gustó, pero le voy a poner 2 estrellas porque me vino bien que sea tranqui y con poca letra para poder estudiar con el disco de fondo.
Atmospheric Techno. This was good for the a session at the gym but that’s about it.
Pretty long, repetitive and overstayed it's welcome.
2/5
Relentless sameness. If I were dancing at a club, this would be my expectation. What a slog.
ill give it 2 only if I never hear you again
I think that if it takes you until 3 minutes and 40 seconds into your opening track before you add a second musical note to either the instrumental or vocal tracks then you're moving at the wrong pace. Like, what are we doing here. Why did this album have to be 73 minutes long. I don't know actually I didn't mind having it just as background/ambient while I was working today—it wasn't, like, outright unpleasant or anything—but I am just never going to put this kind of thing on to pay attention to/feel inspired by
For me, having 2 15+ minute songs to start off an album is an abomination, especially when the music is of as low quality and taste as this. I also found it difficult to discern whether the banging and other distasteful noises were coming from the builders next door or this album.
"Great background music" is not the high praise that some people seem to think it is, and in this case I don't even believe it is accurate. This really isn't my kind of music. Aggravatingly repetitive, it either distracts me in the worst way possible, or I completely tune it out, so what is the point? There were some good bits towards the end of the second track, but by that point you are well over 20 minutes into the album. It's a waste of time. Blueski and Stagger have something interesting going on but again, it's not worth the time it took to get there. A generous two stars, because it only annoyed me rather than actually making me angry.
I like the break beats and the ambience, then the vocals ruin it.
I listened to this on the way home from Sunn O))) and it was way better than Mariah Carey’s bullshit.
„…nobody listens to techno.“ -Eminem
I wanted to like this but there's something fundamentally boring about the entire album that I can't quite place. Even the parts that made me move a bit felt hollow somehow.
4.5/10
4/10… electronica / 90s edm / *1996
Not my scene. Good for movie dance club fight scenes. Top track: "Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love"
Not for me.
123. fine for background music
Nåede ikke helt igennem - En 16 minutters dronene åbner som ikke fanger mig.. Efterfulgt af en 15 minutters lang slasker som peaker det første minut. - Albummet kommer aldrig rigtig videre fra sin uendelige opbygning.
Eh not my favourite. Some cool sounds probably not heard a lot back in 95 but today it doesn't feel as revolutionary
Pearl's Girl
Techno just ain't really my thing. It had its moments, but 15 minute songs shouldn't be this repetitive.
NFM
Overall: 4/10 Despite the length and repetitiveness of the first 2 tracks, I actually really enjoyed them! After those 2, the repetitiveness got on my nerves and I ended up not liking the rest of the album. Not the worst british electronic album I've gotten though! Fav Song: Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream Of
It's okay in parts but several of the songs don't seem to go anywhere or evolve.
This album really just didn't do much for me. I think the concept was cool, and it wasn't bad. I just really don't like electronic. I hate to characterize it as "just noise", but that is the reality I have when listening to this kind of music. It just sounds like repetitive noise. I will say this, however, this is far and away the most interesting electronic album I have heard.
First song had to skip after 10 mins in. I don't haaaate it, but def gets old real quick. 2/5
It was fine. Bit try hard maybe? Or maybe just not that good. I don’t know. Not returning
Tasapaksua, jännää, ehkä vähän hermostuttavaa ja kiihdyttävää. Outoa mut ei paskaakaan. Jostain laulusta tulee mieleen Jim Morrison ja musasta Lunatic Soul. Hassu kombo.
Background music for clubs.
𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 sounds polished and immersive, with long, flowing tracks that build gradually and create a strong electronic atmosphere. The production is clearly well-crafted, and the album captures that distinct 90s UK electronic sound. Still, despite its quality, it doesn’t stand out much to me. There are plenty of electronic albums from that era with a similar approach, and this one ends up feeling a bit interchangeable in comparison.
I didn't hate this, and it was fine to listen to during a workout. But it wasn't really interesting
Has its moments of greatness but often times it is a bit lackluster. I know this techno/electronic/trance genre well enough to known their doing something artistic here but its not entirely pleasant.
Oh boy, another 90's techno dance-club album. At first it seemed like it might rise above some of the others in this lane, but most of the tracks end up stretched far longer than they need to be. What starts as a decent groove gradually turns into repetition, and with the album running well over an hour, it becomes a bit of a chore to get through.
D&B British trash
Next time I’m on a catheter of drugs at a European club I’ll try this one again
Pretty mediocre imo tbh. Didn't really vibe with us. Sounds like the menu for a PS1 game.
sounds like messing around with fruityloops for the first time
Electronica doesn't move me and this is no exception. All the stereotypes about the genre being gratingly repetitive? Probably because of this album, with added self-indulgence found in tracks that are about 3x too long. This has a place in a video game or something but that's about it. I was never a rave kiddie so those Jedi powers won't work on me, either. Some charity star power for influence but...
2.5. Electronic music really isn't my thing anymore, so it was a struggle for me to listen to this one actively. I would've loved something like this when I was a young teenager, staying up late to game and tinker with my pc. The songs are very long and repetitive, and started to become background noise for me. I think if the songs had been about 20% shorter this would've worked better for me.
Oh no. My attention span is nowhere near the length of these tracks. And if you are going to repeat the same riff with no payoff, 5 minutes is long enough. Fifteen minutes is approaching agony. I’m looking at you track 2. Fortunately the riffs themselves are usually enjoyable. I think the last track was probably my favorite, which was a nice reward for sticking out some of the others. Overall the sound of this album is more analog than most electronic music. A little bit of cutting back and I’d be adding a star.
Background music to a 90s rave in a bikers' HQ.
The first song was garbage, but at least they set the bar low so I could enjoy the other bad songs a little more
non è il mio genere, però solo perchè hanno fatto born slippy si meritano un 2
Non ho sentito quasi niente ma non mi aveva colpita
The best thing about these songs is one could leave the room, do some chores, make something to eat, go to work, come back and not have missed anything. I wish I had done that.
Not my favorite genre. Some of these dongs are fifteen minutes long. I liked Confusion the Waitress.
I’m sure this was probably groundbreaking at the time but 30 years later it felt like a lot of generic techno idk
This album might as well have been one 1 hour & 13 minute song. #Ass
Generic mediocre electronic music, feels like a lot of it would fit as a soundtrack to a 90s/00s pc cd game, maybe like qbert or frogger. Bland and bleh
Album #64 Underworld: Second Toughest In The Infants Obscure hour-plus British electronic album from the nineties, part 10. Starting to feel like the curator of this list may have had a type, not so much the 1001 albums you need to hear before you die, but rather the 1001 albums this random British guy had heard. This one was probably the best of the batch, bar The Prodigy. Unlike the other electronic albums, which pretty much just do the same thing, I feel like this one tried to push the genre a bit. The vocals in the first track gave me Joy Division vibes, and for some reason, the last track gave me R.E.M vibes. I think Rowla was a really annoying track, but the rest were just dull at worst. Best Tracks: Pearl’s Girl, Banstyle/ Sappy’s Curry, Confusion The Waitress Worst Track: Rowla Score out of 10: 5
To be honest, the album got a bit boring. No goor listening if you’re not in a club setting
I dont dance and I dont do party drugs. There's nothing for me here.
It was good for a 75 minute British electronica album from the 90s. But I just don't think I need to hear any more 75 minute British electronica albums from the 90s.
Some electronica is an exciting discovery, but this just felt like the kind of background music that would be really good at a rave and not anywhere else.
It’s fine, good background music
J’ai pas tant aimé mais je vais etre moins harsh que mes collègues. Sur la 2e track il y avait de la texture et de l’ambiance intéressante. Quand ils lachent le beat abrutissant poum-poum-poum, y’a peut-etre quelque chose!
It was alright for what it was and had a few moments that I liked and thought were genuinely interesting. Unfortunately it's just not my cup of tea. My favourite track was the closer, "Stagger". Not a terrible album but not one I will ever seek out again in full. 2/5 stars.
nope.
not for me
2.
Mostly instrumental/ some light vocal, super long tracks, last track ok
Rytme og driv, men aldri interessant.
Hard to believe this came out in 1995. I would have believed it was recent, but I don't listen to a lot of electronic music.
Yeah, it's alright 4/10
Last two tracks are a little more melodic and tolerable, but generally hated this and it made me feel angry and agitated.
Some cool compositions that build in interesting ways but at the end of the day it is just some thumping techno.
It’s fine
Meh
Bleh that sucked
Wow. That was a lot of boring, repetitive, and annoying sounds. They get half a star for not being the absolute worst and half for being Welsh which bumps them up to 2 stars but I will NEVER want to sit down and just listen to this album again.
is it just me or does all electronic music just sound the same?? so many over-dubbed loop tracks, sounds, sampled with maybe a few (lame) vocals dropped in here & there.
No electronica album should ever be in a top albums ever list never
Not the style of music I like.
The first song was so long, monotonous, and repetitive that I was thining of giving up on this album. The second one was just as long, monotonous, and repetitive, but at least it wasn't too bad from an annoying point of view. At some point, I completely forgot I was listening to this, it sounded like a background soundtrack to either a loading screen in a game, or one of those installers that have music. Overall, pretty meh.
Intro: Not sure this is going to be my vibe! But i normally listen to my album while working so this may actually boost some productivity I enjoyed listening to this record more than I expected! Not really my style but something I could potentially circle back to while working or needing an energy boost. Appreciate the art!
I'm getting pretty tired of all the techno albums. Again, this one's fine for background music but doesn't do much for me.
Not mad about this, took me three sittings to get through this electronic album.
Could not find my way into this record if my life depended on it.
Not worth your time
Not for me
She’s overstimulated
bleh. wasn't bothered by this at all. don't even recall anything from it.
This was tough to get through. Not the worst electronica on this list, but far from the best. The first song was terrible, and most of the songs are too long. The lyrics are ridiculous, and the beats are annoying. I’d rate this a 1.5 if I could but I didn’t quite hate it as much as the others I’ve rated 1 stars. Also the last couple tracks aren’t terrible.
Surely this is for dancing, not listening? I mean, no one sits down to listen to this, right? Right? 2/5
Only 774 albums to go to get through this list and get to the user picks, where I hope we will get some more interesting albums.
Mid
Just from an album sequencing perspective why couldn’t they have split up the 15 minute songs instead of putting them back to back? I thought the song Stagger was quite interesting, but I had to wade through an hour of music before it to get there. Pearl’s Girl is pretty good too.
I'm out on the continuous stream of techno and fusion instrumental pieces on this list.
Doll
bosh bosh boom clap
Second toughest 90s British electronica album to listen to
Not for me.
Some interesting beats and melodies, but I'm not a big electronica person, so wasn't for me.
More background music
When the first song was 16 minutes long I knew I was in for some trouble. This band, I assume, came from a time when techno was becoming a thing. Hate to tell you this hoss, but it was never a thing for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it.
så lang men ikke det værste vi har haft af den her slags
Like 90s Europe
Every song is 12 minutes. Idk it was cool and all and I don’t hate electronic. I’m torn between 2 and 3. Like I truly have no desire to listen to ts again. It’s very YouTube compilation coded but it’s like needlessly long. I don’t think I ever felt it and towards the middle I was itching for it to be over. I had a debate with myself over what degree I have to listen to all this shit for. Idk man, 2.
I’m just so not the demographic for this. It’s fine I guess but 15-minute electronic songs are just not interesting enough for me to listen to 7 of them in a row and enjoy them
This is #day458 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… ah, '90s techno. I get the influence and all that, but it's hard to make myself enjoy something this repetitive. Maybe I'm not that into techno, after all. The whole thing is just way too long to boot. Had "Born Slippy. NUXX" been on the original tracklist, I might've gone with a 3. Otherwise, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day459.
Overall Album Review: •8 songs •1 hour and 13 minutes •Fav song - Pearl’s Girl •One sentence review - The songs could be quite groovy at times but i would lose interest quickly as the songs were too long. Album rating: A High 2
Very monotonous.
Cerebral dance music? I don't know about that. I felt like the songs overstayed their welcome.
Better than DarkDancer, but not really into this that much.
Relatively benign and clubby chill, and certainly not the most soulless electronica one's ever heard. It's possible that this might be more subtle than one realizes, given one's disinclination to give such synthetic and borderline tedious beatfests much time when it comes to attentive listening. Net-net, though, is that one struggles to see how this would in any way prepare one's soul for the afterlife (assuming there is one). As such, this can be regarded as non-essential, pre-demise listening. They got their 15 minutes with Trainspotting OST so don't really need (or deserve) much more love than that.
Mind numbingly repetitive but I'm feeling generous.
I have heard of Underworld so that’s a good start. So far all I’m hearing now is light techno beats that don’t hit like they should to be. This album just doesn’t take off. Like, ever. It’s like the final production was forgotten. Could it be remixed. Hell ya. Maybe that’s the point. But this, this as it stands it just mediocre. Start to finish.
I liked it at the beginning but it got boring fast. And the voices annoyed me
Beep boop 90s spy video game music.
It’s just a bit too repetitive and rough for my taste. While there are cool beats that might work in a club setting, it fails to hold my attention for long.
Didn't really understand why this made the list.
This electronic techno sound is not my jam, and I will not lie when I say I didn't care much for Second Toughest in the Infants. At the very least, I found it interesting. The first track was extremely repetitive, but that aspect improved for the rest of the album. Underworld created an album with every song sounding different--I don't think I need to explain that this doesn't happen often in electronic albums. A lot of electronic albums are more ambient-sounding, and I liked that Underworld didn't fall into that common trap. The vocals were rare, and I always felt they added nothing of substance to the song.
I honestly didn't find this album noteworthy, especially not for this project. It wasn't bad, but it was pretty unspectacular. Each song had its own vibe, which was nice, but each song vibe just repeated itself over the course of several minutes.
Really just whattt???? 1.5/5
I'm struggling to really see the importance of this album or how it can be held in a high regard. I suppose it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not, but I can't really understand how someone could relate to this in a meaningful way. There isn't even much quality musicianship on show. Some of the really techno sounds reminded me of Ross 'Finding his sound' in Friends, lol. Maybe at 3am in a nightclub I'd feel differently?
The best thing about this album is the title. It's sixth form poetry mumbled above boring beats. Occaisonally it becomes more interesting, but that's probably because some of the tracks have multiple parts so if you throw enough shit at the wall, some of it will stick. Best Tracks: Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love; Banstyle/Sappy's Curry; Pearl's Girl
hypnotic beats I was going on a bike ride and this pulled me through. As a stand alone it seemed a little dated a good beat behind it but not much else at times . I expected more not for me
Headache stuff
Sorta boilerplate edm , I like the early parts that get me moving
'Juanita' shapes up to be late-night rave-club fayre, until that guitar hook comes in and transforms it into a club-culture anthem. The vocal pattern is almost Born Slippy, albeit roboticised. It's not the only one - 'Pearl's Girl' takes a further step - it basically _is_ Born Slippy, but with the ambient piano chords taken out with the industrial beats remaining. 'Rowla' has more incessant banging than Stevie Wonder's little toe. The only variation here is loud and soft. It's too often shades of grey with this album; there's no drama between light and shade, interesting layers, melodies - it's ad infinitum beats without something additional to spark them into life.
Listened Before? N Nope. This is not my thing. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Rowla
Perhaps this was innovative when it came out, but this was my first listen and I wasn't impressed. There were a few minutes of interesting ideas (particularly one that kind of reminded me of Peter Gabriel) but the rest I thought was generic noisy electronic music.
Electronic music is one of the weaker genres for me. I don’t gravitate toward it and don’t know much about it. With that said, this album started off strong for me. The instrumentation and vocals on the first three tracks were quite interesting and pleasing to my ear. I found myself entranced; hyped yet mellow. This feeling unfortunately morphed into a sort of anxiety and annoyance with the intense and repetitive nature of tracks 4-6. I found the beats to be tedious and unimaginative at times. The album recovered a bit for me with the final two tracks, as I loved their melodies and more mellow vibes. Overall, this was just a so-so album that I probably won’t revisit.
Drags a lot, nothing special
#708. I suppose this kind of music has its place, but on a list of essential albums to listen to is not that place. 2/5: meh
2 out of 5. Nothing stood out to me but I also don't hate this album.
2.5 some songs were good but way too long for those I didn't like
Stupid electronic shit
3.38
The incessant electronic beats are just too much. I can’t with this.
Not terrible, just not what I like.
Were the 90s worse than the 80s?!
Video game music
Not the worst thing ive ever heard but a solid contender for most boring
Close but no
Electronic - not enough variation and the songs lasted way too long. Especially for the songs that sound alike.
2.5 - Meh
2.5
Fine constructed electronic music. Nothing else.
Garbo
First two songs way too long. The second half of this had some great songs.
Not really for me. Not terrible though.
This was pretty boring.
Another 90s electronic. Surely one of these mattered more than others
I thought I was getting close to the end of the album and then I realized I’m only 3 songs in.
26/07/2025 I just couldn't connect with this.
Man, I loved 73 minutes of ANOTHER bri'ish techno noise album.
Some real C.S.I. test tube and beaker shit. If you like the first 30 seconds of a particular song, you're in luck, because it won't change. No bridge, no chorus, no key change, just the same thing all the way through. The final track switches it up a bit, but too little, tool ate(I'm leaving the typo because Tool eats this shit alive). If you don't immediately like the song, save some time and go ahead and skip to the next.
A bit of a nightmare scenario for techno/electronic. Repetitive and long. The sounds and beats are good, they just go on far too long with little change.
What am I supposed to do to this? It's not enough to dance to, but it's definitely not enough to think about. Maybe the boots and cats works, but it doesn't believe in it. I'm not sure it believes in anything.
Some of it was alright. Some of it wasn’t. I love (mostly vocal-free) beats to listen to while I work but this wasn’t it for me.
3 / 10 - I feel like I needed to be 4 keys deep to like this album. Sadly I was 0 keys deep and bored on an afternoon, so didnt really hit the spot
In the flow
In a nutshell: instant 90’s rave music. The same duo who brought you the iconic closing track to Trainspotting- “Born Slippy .NUXX” (which only appears on the reissues). It’s kinda like interval training but for electronic music. You have the techno/breakbeat stages to dance to then you have the ambient/downtempo stages to cool down to. Overall: 4/10
This just isn't my thing.
This first half of the first song was great, then it kept going and going. That’s pretty much how I felt about the entire album…it just kept going and going. Excessively repetitive.
This is some fantastic background music. Unfortunately background music is not what I'm looking for here.
muy electrónico, en plan tecno cantado así os cirilo y tétrico, por lo menos me da esa sensación la primera canción, la segunda no da esas vibes pero mantiene lo electronico canciones mu largas
Uninspired and repetitive.
I don't totally hate this, but it's so incredibly long. Like, entirely too long. I am writing this during the 4th track. There is no need for these tracks to be this long at all, or there is no need for music like this to be considered albums. They are great dance tracks. But they don't fit the album aesthetic and have very little applicability to any listening scenario besides dancing
It’s probably quality on pills but I’m middle aged and boring.
Electronic shit from a butt
Not for me.
I don't know. It makes sense that the album cover looks like a Jackson Pollock. It felt like someone exploring audio in the same way. Composition is most important. There were some fun bits. I just don't think I would ever tell someone that they need to listen to this.
More EDM. Some parts got my attention more than other parts, and some of those attention getting parts got it in a positive way.
Another electronic album. Still can't convince me this style of music is good for anything but being at a club. Kind of stale. 2/5 Won't listen again
This is get-shit-done music. Turn on the drone techno and just get in the flow. That said, it's not something that I find myself thinking I'll seek out when I want to actively listen to something. And if I'm really wanting some vibe driving background tracks, there's a lot of other stuff I'd put on first.
Any sort of techno album is always going to rank low on my list. I can't tolerate a whole album of it, no matter how well the record fits the genre.
Outside of daft punk EDM is not my thing
yawn
Not a fan of EDM. Repetitive and uninvolving.
Only in electronic music can you get away with song titles like “air towel” and “sappy curry” and be considered essential listening. It’s rare for dance music to keep me interested and this never came close.
Background techno. Too long, too boring. It didn't stand out. This album has their biggest hit added with the deluxe edition, but I didn't listen to the deluxe edition. I hope the electronic music on this list doesn't only consist of British artist. But I'm afraid it will be....
Album 777 of 1089 Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants (1996) Rating : 1.5 / 5 More electronica I don't really care for. I will say that this was some decent background music for some deep excel work. Keeps the pace up.
Also ewige Wiederholung macht die Musik nicht unbedingt besser - obwohl es auch was meditatives hat.
Boring in that everything blends together.
Doesn't do much forme
damn so tough
This isn’t an album, it’s a fucking endurance test. It starts with two 15-minute tracks, like it's daring you to keep going. I don’t care how cool it might sound in the background of a hacker movie or while grinding in a JRPG - this isn’t something I’d ever press play on with intention. There’s mood, but it goes nowhere. Great for ambient distraction. Terrible for active listening. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions: - Pearl's Girl - Blueski
What are the odds I get two straight electronic albums? Got a couple of marathon songs to start, which is always fun. Some good jams/ambient beats here, but as is the case with most electronic albums, things tend to meander after a bit. My attention was elsewhere after a while.
Sigh... British electronica... Can you tell I'm over 900 albums in? At least it's better than Mylo.
Just ok.
I gave up on this halfway through. I was feeling bored and a little irritated listening to this, so I checked to see how much was left. When I raised I'd only heard 4 of 8 tracks, I just couldn't continue. To me, this music is boring to the point of tedious.
I’ve tried a few times now to understand and appreciate the appeal of this genre and musical style. It’s just not jiving for me. Moreover, I’m not sure how one selects “the best” from this electronic-techno genre. I simply don’t hear the difference in the music. I suppose this one is as good as any, which is to say, not very.
Este disco es inseparable de la película Trainspotting, y sobre todo de Born Slippy, que no estaba en el disco pero por razones obvias se ha venido incluyendo en las reediciones. Su mejor tema y el más conocido. El disco, cuarto de la banda aunque realmente el segundo con Darren Emerson, se ha quedado algo encasillado a una época (mediados finales de los 90) muy concreta, pero tiene momento aún disfrutables. No es un disco para incluir en los 1000 mejores de la historia, para eso tenemos a The Prodigy en lugar de Underworld, e incluso Dubnobasswithmyheadman o A hundred days off. Born Slippy .NUXX y Rez.
Fine but can't justify the length
Pretty solid background music with one or two interesting moments. Way too long. Best song: Banstyle / Sappys Curry
2,5
Boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants and boots and pants... for 73 minutes. Also, Nine Inch Nails called, they want their album cover back.
A little strange, a lot repetitive. Not for me.
Overstimulating.
Electronic/techno stuff takes more energy for me to ingest, and even more to appreciate. As I encounter more from those genres, I'm realizing the challenge may be the repetition. When this album is repetitive it's just so boring/dull for me (Confusion The Waitress), but when it zags, when there's diversity in the sound (Banstyle) it's enjoyable. Grateful for those breaks. On another note, the title of this album is wonderful 🙂
EDM is definitely not for me. Few good parts but mostly uninteresting
2+ Stars (6/15)
Stressing me out
This has some promising moments and nice builds, but doesn't really do much in the end. Also half the songs are ruined by the awful vocals like so much EDM of this era.