Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Not my thing really. Some interesting sounds but I’m not interested in that “four on the floor” type of electronic music
Aparte del famoso "Born Slippy" les escuché de pasada en su época y no me convencieron no sé ahora si años más tarde y sin el hype de esa época del techno me dirá algo el disco. Ese tema en realidad se añadió a este disco posteriormente pero no está incluido en la versión enlazada desde aquí. Me ha aburrido con la excepción del single me ha recordado a los temas menos interesantes de The Prodigy.
Bass-thumping techno alongside more textured, atmospheric electronica. All of it is impressive and well-produced, though I gravitate towards the less clubby songs. “Banstyle / Sappy’s Curry” is resonating with me. The music sounds like it’s submerged underwater. There’s some blips and bloops but also some organic-sounding instrumentation as well as guitars.
A little bird told me that when you download cracked music software, it usually contains re-coded installers and things like keygenerators. When you open these little installers and cracked files, they often play music on them automatically and this is exactly the sort of music they play. I've always wondered what that genre would be called because it is pretty unique and this is the first time I've heard a professional band have an albums worth of this style. Wonderfully minimalist yet still exciting and overall to me it's giving (lol) "effervescent". I was really happy to hear vocals in the second song after the long 16 minute album opener. I dug this! Nice 3/5.
The fear I feel when I read 90’s British electronic music… I gave it a fair chance, I did. The problem is, though, that it was just what I expected it to be and then he even sang about licking Colonel Sanders’ fingers.
A monster of progressive trance. Moody and mighty. I feel if one Underworld should be chosen this iscthe right one. Sounds even better at night.
I am not listening to this album, I have trouble focusing on a 4 minute song let alone a 16 minute one???? Make shorter albums NOW Favorite Tracks: IDC
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.
Excellent.
Hell yeah, good stuff.
in general, i am very fond of underworld. their music, an integral part of the cult classic Hackers, was one of the first to open my eyes to electronic music in my youth. however, this is just mostly boring.
Context: I only know 1 track by Underworld. Listens: 1 (Barely) This album is the pure spirit of 90's dance music and the way that tracks are built are really impressive and way beyond it's time. Saying that although I can appreciate this is a fantastic album, this didn't really hit for me.
"Second Toughest in the Infants" by Underworld is a testament to the band's mastery of electronic music, even though it might not fully resonate with all listeners. Released in 1996, it's a blend of techno, trance, and ambient elements that showcases the band's innovation. Tracks like "Pearl's Girl" and "Rowla" capture the pulsating energy and intricate soundscapes that define the album. The production is polished and immersive, creating a sonic journey. However, the album's immersive style could also be a drawback for some, occasionally making it feel like a background experience rather than a captivating one. While the album's uniqueness and innovation are commendable, "Second Toughest in the Infants" might not fully capture the attention of those seeking more dynamic and varied electronic offerings.
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.
This album demands you are either are in a club dancing away, or cleaning or working out or racing a car.... you gotta move to endure this... made it to the 1st track of the 2nd side of the album... but that's it... is it horrible? No... Just simply not for me... maybe in small bites sizes or one track. If you can survive the 1st track which si 16 minutes long then you might make it half way or til the end...
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.
Definitely would need to be in the right headspace for an album like this cuz I actually like the instrumentals and there’s a lot of cool shit going on but the tracks are just so long and it’s not necessarily my style. The tone of the piano is dope and very jazzy sounding and I like some of the guitar riffs like the multi guitar part on Blueski. Was ready to give this place one a shitty rating after the first two but the last couple grew on me
Would love to listen to this while rolling on molly in some German boiler room. At my 9-5 office job though? Not a big fan. The music isn't bad, its actually pretty high quality techno, I guess I just don't see its greater utility or reason for why it should be important.
It's really good dance music that absolutely hits a level deeper than similar groups around the mid-90's playing this style. It's a bit longwinded for me and difficult to listen to all of the way through, but it would be better in a different setting is my guess. May warrant a relisten to try to highlight and understand some of the subtleties
just boring et répétitif. drum n bass clearly not my thing 4/10
Didn’t care for this at first, but after a second listen, through earphones, I'm gonna bump it up an extra star. There's nothing as memorable as Born Slippy (the only non-Olympic Games affiliated Underworld track I knew previously), but Pearl's Girl does a reasonable job of matching its pounding, disorientating beats, albeit without the euphoric release. The more rave-y tracks have enough punch to keep my feet tapping and the chilled cuts like Blueski are also pretty hypnotic in their own way.
Maybe I was in the mood for this. Enjoyed it and didn't expect to enjoy it.
Not too crazy about the opening two tracks that take up almost half of the album’s runtime, the other tracks I find more interesting. Beautiful final track too. After some deliberation I’ll say that this is good :-)
Chill
I've never heard of Underworld before and all of the music on Second Toughest In The Infants was new to me. I am less knowledgeable with whatever the genre of music this is. Is this just "electronic"?, ¿"house music"?, ¿did someone say anything about "drum and base"? I don't know. For most of the album, the music settled in as a comfortable experience. "Rowla" was the only track that pulled me out of the listening experience, with extended repetition that tried my patience. In contrast, "Air Towel" got me participating with the music as I got caught up in the sounds and beat. I'm not sure I would recognize music from Underworld if I heard something else from the band. I may never re-visit, but Second Toughest In The Infants was okay.
Not a favourite example of the genre. Too generic, doesn't dig into a particular area and really deliver something compelling or interesting; it doesn't tug at the emotions, it doesn't set you soaring, it doesn't make me feel. Music for elevators.
I tend to find this kind of music really grating (when the beats are a bit too strong and there's less complexity in the layering) or that it completely washes over me. This is closer to washing over me - I couldn't listen to it without doing something else at the same time, there's not enough energy and it's all a bit elongated. That said, there are some interesting bits, I particularly liked the end bit of the second track (both of the first two are over 15 minutes long). There are definitely a lot worse albums of this kind of music, but it's not blowing me away. Another 3.
Perfect industrial ambiance with a nice nice sprinkle of DnB
meh
This is great. Smooth electronica with great beat and enough intrigue to keep your attention.
Dear Great Gods of the Generator, Please stop giving me electronica albums.
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.
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
Early contender for least favorite album of the project. It gave me a headache. Not for me.
I FEEL LIKE I TOOK ACID AT A RAVE AND WOKE IP NAKED ON THE NEIGHBORS LAWN. BUT LIKE, IN A GOOD WAY.
Snooze fest! Starting with a 13 minute song was not my cup of tea. Immediately I dreaded the rest of the album and in my opinion rightfully so. Super boring, super long, that’s all I could think about.
First 10 minutes were a dreadful mistake on my part. As an album to listen to anywhere near active-listening - e.g. in the car - this is absolutely disastrous. Literally about 8 minutes into track one which centers (drones) completely around one single chord/note was nearly literally driving me to madness. When I realized I was halfway done with track 1 I self-corrected into waiting until I could put headphones on and have this as background. And most definitely works as such - this is the album you want if you're working for 75 minutes at your computer, which... :) It's odd how an album like this actually makes me concentrate on my job/task at hand even better. Question: does that mean I actually *like* it? Maybe not. It's specialized to be sure as there's no way I could put this on for many other things other than work - it's like an audio tuning-out landscape. Hard to rate because I like the vibe it provides but it's almost like when i turn my attention back to the "songs" I don't like it at all - ends up sounding like cold repetitive nonsense. So while it serves a definitive purpose for me...Is that 3-worthy? It's like an appliance. Useful. It almost feels like I'd be giving an oven or a Roomba a 3. Can't do it, even if I might "use" this album again. 5/10 2 stars.
Pointless cyclic electronic posturing. Must need ecstasy to "enjoy" this sound.
Boring
Dance music with aspirations of greatness - an attempt to be bold and meaningful which ultimately flops.
Along side the Chemical Brothers, Underworld were bringing the indie kids to the race with some excellent albums. Hard and abrasive rock influenced electronic brilliance.
This music was everywhere at the time, but today I find I'm so over it... The senses of freshness and originality are gone, and we're just stuck with the repetitiveness.
Hadn't listened to this one before, really enjoyed it though. More so on the second listen; on the first everything melded together a bit. I think Dubnobasswithmyheadman is a better album, and probably a better introduction to Underworld. That's on the list though, so I'll get that eventually, right?...RIGHT???
Another fun electronic album. I think we got one from these guys already too. The second song Banstyle has the same beat as the hold music on phones. Very chill album with some highs and a few lows too. I'm glad this on here.
Pretty cool electronic-type album, lots of long tracks. Never heard of this group or artist but they've got a pretty good sound going here. Undeniably '90s. Favorite tracks: Air Towel, Juanita, Blueski. Album art: Not much of anything, is it? A splotch or splatter or whatever the hell word you wanna use. 3/5
Only ever heard underworlds key hits, really enjoyed this album great mix of dance and ambient songs. Up their with the best techno Iv heard.
This did not draw me in.
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?
I started listening to this… and then stopped.
Shrug emoji
3/5. I want to say I love most of this album but it feels a little too long. If the album was just the first 5 songs it would be perfect. The extra filler keeps me waiting until the album is over. But otherwise it was one of the more enjoyable heavy dance records I’ve listened to.
What the fuck did I just listen to?
Dave is floating.
Underworld has been sited as an influence by a lot of video game composers and yeah that influence can be felt.
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.
If you told me that the first two tracks are well over 15 minutes of electronic music, and that I would actually like it, I wouldn't have believed you. But I did. I found them fascinating pieces of work, deeply enriching and numerous themes in both. The shorter songs were okay as well. I am not that big of a fan of electronica, but this I quite enjoyed. The beats and counterpoint in each song worked well. The vocals were not so great, but I kinda tuned those out after a while. Still, not bad.
Oh good. Just when I was questioning the amount of garage rock in the 1,001 list and saying it was only rivaled by electronica, here comes the first of three electronica albums in a row. Granted, this album isn't part of the excess. I thought it was pretty good and inventive. Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love was a very cool opener; well, the last one was okay but the first two had some awesome beats (and fitting vocals). The second long and winding track didn't really do it for me but I was definitely bopping along to a couple songs - Rowla and Air Towel. Pearl's Girl was pulsing. The final two tracks reminded me of Steven Wilson's stuff - Blueski was very guitar-oriented and cool while Stagger felt prog rocky (with more subtle guitar and drums). Solid album all and all.
Sounds great
I expected to dismiss this as repetetive and derivative and whilst it's not the most original album it's hypnotic and very well put together. I like it.
It's electronic music and it is entirely way too long.
meh, a bit too techno for me
This was enjoyable, but felt very repetitive.
1. Noped myself out of this pretty fast. This would just give me a headache.
I’ll call this, over an hour of me waiting for something interesting to happen. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, I waited in vain. Maybe I would enjoy this if I was cracked up, but for now, it makes me want to tear my ears off and ask “why me?”. 1/5
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 know, maybe...
The electronic/club music scene from the 90s is something I am aware of but haven't any real experience with. Listening to this isn't unpleasant. It's very hypnotic in the sense that it's repetitive and the songs are long. Sometimes too long. I don't hate it but there are other long form types of music that I prefer over this. 5/10
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.
Una buena electrónica, me gustaron varios temas. Para recomendar.
Ugh, it's fine I guess.
Chilled out drum n bass vibes. I'm into heavier stuff in general but could definitely chill to this in the sun with a few wines
Interesting, cool, I lost track of time when listening to this walking
Nice blend of genres
Probably blew minds in 1996.
Okay for background noise but not much else. Does anyone like techno/electronica? Not me. 1 point.
En el seu moment àlgid de glòria, fent bandera d'una época i un moviment. Jo estava a l'altre extrem estètic i actitudinal, així que mai van ser sant de la meva devoció
4 stars. Great EDM.
Listened to 20 seconds of the first track…cmon
Weaponized printer music. Crazy how this is probably the shortest techno album I've had so far. It starts out pretty interesting and ends up on a cool note (that final song sounds a whole lot like Depeche Mode), but the middle is like an hour and a half of weird forgettable beep boops. Not for me, sorry.
Some excellent techno that only needed to be the first two tracks.
This takes me back to the days of Orbital, Juno Reactor, Crystal Method, Antiloop, etc. I never got into Underworld back then, but now I wish I had. Great album, maybe not consistent all the way through, but there are some very strong beats on here.
I don’t like techno
not my thing
Wicked
The thing I like about techno is that it doesn't change. The thing I don't like about techno is that it doesn't change...
It was pretty good, but the first couple of songs were far too long.
I listened to this album this morning and I’ve already forgotten the specific things I had to say about it. Just some lame electronica that was really long I guess.
I’m not a huge fan of electronic music but after listening to the first track, I thought this one had potential. But after that, everything went down hill and the music lost all cohesion. The beats were awful.
I think you hear shades of the 00s EDM boom in this record. However, it definitely sounds a bit more of it's time: very late 90s/early 00s "futuristic" sounding music. Favorite tracks: "Air Towel", "Rowla"
There was actually some neat ambient stuff happening in the background of some of these songs, but the whole thing was so bloated and overdone. It was like what you might get if you asked David Foster Wallace to write a book report for a second grader. Another artist that either didn't have a producer to rein them in or didn't listen to them. Best track: Pearl's Girl
A decent enough listen that I went back for a second hearing. I knew of Underworld through the track Born Slippy which is not on this album, but the music is in keeping, if lacking a bit in the weight of the sound. Still, good as an ambient soundtrack and I imagine awesome if you are pilled up.
acho que ouvi algumas músicas repetidas e não percebi, de tão parecidas que elas são entre elas. talvez na época do lançamento fosse uma grande novidade esse estilo musical, mas hoje em dia é apenas mais um álbum de música eletrônica qualquer, genérico.
I just cannot get into this type of eletronic music. I dont know, it just feels like random sounds mixed together. Not saying its bad, just that I dont know how to appreciate - songs are long and repetitive, not in a exciting way - I guess the genre is not for me.
I did try
Not terrible but not really my cup of tea
Don’t like 2 out of 10
Pretty typical 90's electronica. It was pretty chill for the most part, something I could definitely see as background music or something. A little repetitive for my tastes, but decent overall.
Classic album from the mid '90s. Block Rocking beats... ..to make a chemical analogy
Did not really enjoy this. Too long.
If Underworld don't stray too far from their template, it's a pretty good one. Nothing as irresistible as Born Slippy but some good tunes, topped by the banging Rowla
Not really my kind of thing.why are the songs 16 minutes long.
No surrender eight track bender. Music you have experiences to. I reckon the youtube comments section is legendary for some of these. 4.5/5
Best Song: Rowla. Like I'm running through the Matrix. Worst Song: Banstyle / Sappys Curry. The drum beat got really fatiguing after a while. Overall: The first two songs were so overly long that I found I had grown tired of the concept after those first two. It's a bit of a shame, because I think the artist showed some interesting rhythms on their shorter tracks, but are just in desperate need of some self-editing.
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
Makes me feel like I’m in the movie ‘Run Lola Run’
Hit me right in the chops. Some crazy brats they are. Struggles a bit in the middle but makes up for it just for being so out there with the sounds. Imagine it would be even better live
Well well well, expectations low but boy I was wrong. Dark and stormy and just what I needed to get me through on a rainy Sunday. Shades of darkside followed by hacienda soundtracks and then back into the deep depths of the underworld. This is about as close to a 5 as I'll get without giving one. 4.499999/10
The entire album made me feel like I was part of that rave scene in The Matrix Reloaded, where humanity is still seshing it in the underworld despite the dystopian terror that exists on the surface.
Not really my kind of thing, but oddly hypnotic after a while. No real stand out tracks, but pleasant enough
такой афекс твиновый :))
Dope beats by Underworld. It's not their best album, but tracks like "Pearls Girl" make a great case for it.
Sauvés du 1 sur le gong
des moments un peu cata mais des passages plutôt jolis parfois
Some bangers without doubt
House music
Wasn’t a big fan of this one, it felt drawn out and wasn’t captivating. I zoned out several times and just wasn’t interested in the sounds that I heard. Faves: Blueski
чтобы забыться и наэлектризовано шагать куда-то
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.
I liked some of the songs and really liked the fast dnb on "Pearl's Girl". It almost sounded like breakcore. I just didn't care enough about any one of them to actually add any to my liked songs. It could do without the random, meaningless lyrics, in my opinion. Or perhaps they do have meaning, and I'm just too dumb to understand. Either way, I mainly liked the instrumentals, and the vocals/lyrics kind of ruined it for me.
Enjoyed the techno sounds but the lyrics were forgettable. Would serve well as background music.
It was fine but ultimately was just repetitive background music
This album worked well as background work music. I found myself just jamming along.
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.
Not bad
I was SO bored. Kept waiting for the drop but it never came.
I checked a handful of times to see if this was almost over. Not only was it a 'No' every time, but I was still on the first track... Not for me.
When I saw the album had less than 10 songs and over an hour long I thought it was gonna drag with 10 minutes songs. I gave it a chance and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Interesting instrumentals. Good background music.
Não me recordo, então não marcou rs
it wasn’t bad, i just wouldn’t sit down and listen to techno
Lovely - a nice throwback to a CD that kept me company for quite a while
Pearl’s Girl is the only song I liked, but the rest of the tracks didn’t leave an impression on me. They are too drawn-out and just sort of meander with no satisfying conclusion. Maybe I would have enjoyed this album more if it was being blasted through a good sound system in a club at 12 am while I was under the influence.
Genre defining, ground breaking etc
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.
I think that I was less than thrilled with this album because of the volume of electronica we have already had in the project. I mean, I like electronica, but it was challenging for me to hear what might be so extraordinary for this album.
I listened twice today and both times this flew under my radar for the most part. I didn't hate it but nothing stood out.
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!
It was okay
Immersive :)
Its way to long and way to repetetive. Ive found that Electronic music generally is really interesting but this somehow manages to be kind of boring
Much closer to what was actually going on in the 90's than any of the indie rock rubbish which has been on this list. Still doesn't make a great album but consistently decent tunes. 3.6
Great chore album. I cleaned my fridge out while rocking out
Started off like some more Need for Speed movie music but displayed some enjoyable electronic throughout the rest
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.
Decent on the whole but just needlessly long and repetitive
Tepid and tedious chill/club music. One may be missing some subtlety, though there's nothing to engage non-fans, nor any reason to listen to it before or after death.
Meh
Not my thing. My dad would like it though
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
Hypnotic and greatly produced but long
The most positive thing I can say about this LP is that it helped me fall asleep on the plane.
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.
90s electronica is very distinct.
Lovely techno beats but I couldn't get into it...
3.4/5 90s electronic music ok for background
This veered a little too much into DnB for me to enjoy it, and I cannot with the super long songs. I didn’t mind “Banstyle / Sappys Curry” but I’m not sure I’d even add it to my highlights playlist.
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.
Genre: Electronic I was never a fan of the modern Electronic music scene until I started listening to albums on this 1001 list. Most of the albums I don't care for the first time I hear it, but after several listens I really start loving them. This is the first time I'm hearing the one and this "band". First Impression: Descent. I need to hear it more.... Standout: probably "Rowla" Rating: 2.5 Singles: ---------------------------------- Pearl's Girl Rowla Juanita
1/2
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!
Well that was tedious, not irritating or painful or disturbing, just plain boring; with nothing whatsoever to distinguish itself from the sounds heard in lifts around the world. Nothing more to say
Sucesión de canciones con un cierto carácter mezcla industrial y electrónica. No excesivamente intenso. Se puede escuchar tranquilamente. Pocas voces en el disco
I'm not a fan of techno/dance so this was quite boring, just repeating random noises ad nauseam. Nothing that stands out from other albums in the same genre, but maybe something a fan of dance would enjoy.
Just not it
Not bad, some cool vibes and nice long songs to zone out to. I had fun but it didn't blow me away.
It's really good and I think it's actually the best from all the electronic albums I've heard while doing this challenge (including Chemical Borthers, Fatboy Slim, Milo) - it's the most complex one while at the same time not annoying and very much enjoyable. My only issue with this is that it's a bit too long, especially for such a repetitive kind of music. I'll be definitely going back to this one. 4/5
"Banstyle" was listenable enough. That's all.
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
First two tracks go insane. I like this a lot more than dubno. Less focus on the vocals make this great.
Cool cool
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.
One of the best electronic music albums of all time.
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.
This album is really quite varied compared to most other electronic music of the time. The fact that they have a dedicated singer kind of sets them apart too. Very versatile sound. Electronic anthems. Favorite track is "Pearl's Girl," probably because it sounds the most like "Born Slippy."
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 don't hate it? Not sure if i like it either. tries too hard to be Aphex Twin at times sound extremely outdated somewhat hard listen: mid
Good stuff
Gotta listen to the re-issue for that sweet sweet Born Slippy. NUXX. In my top five for songs to dance to: smoothly with the iconic opening chords, then all out crazy when the kick drum comes in. Singing along to the rambling stream of consciousness lyrics. Rez is also an all time great electronic track. As for the songs on the original disc, I'm not familiar with them, but the outro to Sappy's Curry had me up and dancing. Otherwise good background music, songs for soundtracks.
This album felt like it lasted 45 years. I don’t remember ever starting it, it’s been so long. What do I rate it? How do I rate eternity? How do I rate an album that has managed to evade the bonds of time? Probably two stars.
Cover art: I like the cover. 4/5. Not iconic tho.
fun. loved air towel
Sounded like it belonged in The Matrix or a similar late 90's - early 2000's sci-fi type film. An overall fun listen.
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.
Have you heard Underworld? This sounds exactly like Underworld sound.
I mean… it’s unique to say the least?
Es bueno pero no me agrada escuchar esta música
As an inhabitant of the underworld, I can confirm that we always listen to techno beats that could've been decent if they aren't overlong and unnecessarily repetitive. As for the "Second Toughest in the Infants". It's not really as brutal as it sounds. It's just something about a kid's experience in a nursery school in the UK. Of course, a good bunch of us know what kind of underworld nursery schools are.
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.
From now on any and all electronica trchno albums get a 1. Seriously how many of these do we need on this list?
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.
Don't like it, sounds spooky.
Is this a joke? Why must I hear this before I die? I can load Fruity Loops or other programs onto my PC and make this for myself in 15 minutes. Mucking about with drum machines and computer orograms is not music.
3.75
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.
Blueski- love the guitar melody, great change of pace Stagger- great sound vocal combo This was honestly better than I expected
Very long and repetitive
Ik voelde me ergens tussen verveeld en geënerveerd.. niet mijn ding. Maar vond het oké genoeg om niet het minimum te geven
the first track still has me 4 minutes in. though holy shit your first two tracks are combined almost a half hour!? Confusion The Waitress is a solid dub/jungle sound. Its a pretty inocuous album but I have been able to get some solid work done this morning.
Mid 90s electronic. I remember them from the Trainspotting soundtrack but never listened to anything else from them. Couple of bangers on there.
2 days in a row now of stretched out awful EDM tunes. This thing was almost an hour and a half long. Ugh.
Couldn’t listen past the second song. This ain’t my thing
Yes
"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.
pretty good, not really my genre but I can still appreciate the work that went into it, 7/10
This didn’t do it for me.
Bit boring in places as the pieces are left for too long. Some sounds too much like the Born Slippy hit, others sound like bjork should bee singing them. I think there were better electronic dance albums during the 1990s.
+++
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
cool
Up against a deadline at work this morning and this is precisely what I needed to keep me motivated. All killer no filler.
1996, name and album cover, I'm going SCUNGY UK TECHNO. and boooooooom nailed it. Oh and it goes for over an hour, because of course. 2/5.
Pretty good. Some forgettable lyrics most of a tracks are solid.
Based on my music genre preferences, I would have rated this 3/5, but that would have brought the rating down simply because I don't as often listen to this type of music. For what it's trying to be – techno, progressive house, etc. – I actually liked it quite a bit. Super easy to listen to while working, for example. Not too hectic.
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.
Everything I love about Underworld in one tight package. Too hard to choose a fave, they're all good.
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.
Not my thing
GABE HATTO MUSIC
I saw someone else doing this, and decided to keep a score like this as well: Quality of Album: 9/10 1001 album list worthy: 10/10 Personal enjoyment: 8/10 Juanita ; Kiteless ; to Dream of Love is the intense and powerful opener you'd want on any dance album. Followed up by ambient breakbeat of Banstyle / Sappys Curry as second song it almost doesn't get better in the genre. And that's the first half hour already filled. On the bonus CD is the song Cherry Pie and that might be the best Underworld has ever released.
Boring.
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.
Some of these tracks remind me of the background music that you would play in a scene where life around the main protagonist is sped up and blurry to denote the passage of time. Similarly, these tracks blurred together and nothing stood out for me. It was fine as background music.
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.
Maybe I didn't have the right amount of Molly.
Muy bueno
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.
Fuck that very much.
Noice
inte för mig
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.
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.
Starts slow and picks up at the backend, but also suffers from bloat heavily.
I Didn't Finish Listening For Personal Reasons.
Solid electronica. I find it interesting that most of Underworlds drums/backbeat all sounds the same. 3.5/5
nothing great
Nothing stood out to me on this album. Fine production but nothing to write home about personally.
Tried this a few times before, just not my thing
honestly I forgot all of it
Not for me..
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]
Electronic musiczzzzzz
Endnu et elektronisk album. Måske lidt bedre end de andre, men stadigvæk meget repetativt og meeeget lange numre. 16 minutter 😕 2,5 stjerne
Rating: 7/10
It shone in a few moments, but overall it felt very repetitive within songs and I in cohesive as an album 4/10
4/10. Would've been better without any vocals I think, but overall fine.
Perfect album if you think On the Run is the best Pink Floyd song. 3/10
Electro qui sonne pas pore mais 1h20, je me suis pas rendu a la fin. 3*
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).
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 ?
To long boring
Maybe it would be higher if they just dropped all the vocals
Electrónica. Monótono. Cansino.
1/5 way too electronic for me
Not my thing, but it seems like they do this well
Buen disco!
Great album
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
good driving techno
Meh
It's hard for me to review techno / trance albums, but I really enjoyed this one. Never got bored with the long tracks. There's a lot going on in the first track, maintaining a mid-level energy. Second track is mellower, reminding of PS2-era loading screens, good for studying to. I like the echoey vocals, and how wild it gets in those last few minutes. Next track has a really sweet beat and gothic vocals. "Rowla" is a bit abrasive but still pretty cool. My favorite track is "Pearl's Girl." Crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy........... I love it so much. In "Air Towel", I really enjoyed the vocals, but I found the repetitive beat overstaying its welcome. "Blueski" is a bit of an oddball, but still pleasant. Thankfully this one did not go for more than 3 minutes. The final track, "Stagger", is my second favorite, which is more like synthpop, with orchestral vocals, mysterious lyrics, and heavy synths.
The problem with frontloading your album with the biggest, most epic-length tracks is that you're going to burn out the listener right off the bat. Unless you're, I don't know, Kraftwerk, you shouldn't do it. Even Rush couldn't really pull it off... I find myself shutting off 2112 after I make through the title track, and that's a much better album than this. This album starts with two tracks that each clock in at over 15 minutes, making it a tedious exercise to grind through while checking this album out for the first time. There are some interesting ideas here amidst some dated textures, but the structure of the album has killed its forward momentum for some auditory dick-wagging.
meh
We get a lot of electronic music here on 1001albums, in all its forms. I actually like a lot of electronic music. My brother does it for a living, so I've heard a fair bit of it. But after a while, another techno or house album comes up and I can't help but let out a sigh. This one is really good, though. A full hour+ of really listenable and diverse music, from progressive house to drum and bass to a splash of ambient, none of it tiring nor ear splitting. The album starts out strong and never lets up. Beats are perfect, not hard on the ear for the most part. The compositions are smoothly sequenced and layered, with subtle little progressions that make each track more complex and interesting as it develops. Even the long tracks (which are series of songs that lead into each other), are a breeze to listen to. Lyrics are poetic, but on the abstract side. Vocal distortions, noise and guitar loops are used economically, to nice effect. It’s not all danceable, but there is a solid mix of the clubby and the more contemplative, which makes for a better overall listen. Bravo. Fave Songs: Banstyle/Sappy's Curry, Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love, Air Towel, Blueski, Rowla
Only had time to listen to one track so far. Wasn’t expecting electronic music like this in the list tbh, but will finish it later
Mmmmmmm not my cup of tea
Very good
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
Boring BG music.
Seemed like a standard 90s foreign electronic album. A couple of the songs were a bit long and were pretty easy to get lost in but the other songs were pretty hectic noise. Nothing my style. 3.7/10
The combination of existential mood and imaginative melodic collage is taken up here. (6/10) FT: Stagger
Oh. Now this is cool. It didn’t keep same energy throughout but i liked it.
I really enjoyed this, haunted, the perfect blend of electronic and acoustic elements
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. :)
Meh I did quite like dancing to it, but also kind of bored by it the entire time
Didn't like. COuldn't finish
Rave on
AWESOME!!!!!
Droney and flat. not my thing.
Gets super tedious. I almost feel like ambient music shouldn't have song breaks. Just work it right into the next song. Like Floyd would do. It's not terrible by any means, just goes on too long. It's like they made their point at 3 mins but kept going for five more.
Yeah not bad as far as electronic music goes. 3 🌟
no techno for me
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...
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.
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.
Far far below the standard set by their previous album - all very dull really with only a couple of good tunes
Pure magic
pure edm each song is like 12 min not bad though
Nu maakt Underworld echte coole nummers, maar om dat nu zo thuis te gaan luisteren. Nee, dat kan ik niet zo goed.
Underworld zou er goed aan hebben gedaan hun naam te wijzigen in Background; Perfecte achtergrond muziek om bij te werken.