Originally Posted by Dirty0900 (Post 121456)

The thing is, people would have complained it was a clone of an old release from five years ago, but people will complain of the radical change like this which is for the good imo.

Originally Posted by Dirty0900 (Post 121473)

Originally Posted by stimpee (Post 121471)

Exclusive free mp3 download of the first single from new Underworld album which is due to be released later in the year.

Originally Posted by bas_I_am (Post 121478)

"Not available in my area"

Originally Posted by purlieu (Post 121467)

I've listened to it a few more times now.
I really hate modern dnb so the whole rhythm section is grating to my ears. I just found a live version of YDS (which I hadn't heard before) and it's got a dnb style but actually sounds interesting. I hate High Contrast.
It's catchy though, isn't it?

Originally Posted by dubman (Post 121481)

it is!
it's nice to hear karl being the best part of a song again
overall this is kinda bad but not as maddeningly stupid and depressing if they had just straight released YDS how it was
i'll hang in there i guess

Originally Posted by darktrain (Post 121486)

On further listens, it's the generic dnb sound that prevents me from really loving this. In many uw tracks, they're able to take even your standard 4/4 kick drum and make it feel "special". IMHO this does not feel special.

Originally Posted by starfox203 (Post 121475)

Anyone want to take a stab at lyrics?

Originally Posted by BrotherLovesDub (Post 121491)

hey guys, if this is generic dnb, please point me to or list 3-5 examples that sound similar enough to warrant calling this track 'generic'.

i'll wait...

Originally Posted by Dirty0900 (Post 121493)

Agreed, this owns any "generic" shit that Pendulem would shit out.

Originally Posted by dubman (Post 121496)

everything else is there and theirs, good or not, but that loop is a sore thumb

Originally Posted by BrotherLovesDub (Post 121505)

I find this seriously offensive.

Originally Posted by khouri (Post 121508)

The Good

The lush and upbeat production style is a welcome change from the more spacious and decidedly quiet sound Underworld have been playing with since the RiverRuns. "Scribble" is also further evidence of a more pop-oriented direction, following "Between Stars" and "Diamond Jigsaw", which I quite like. It remains to be seen if Underworld will be successful in this direction, but it's an exciting change nevertheless. Imagine an album full of tracks as intricately written and produced (perhaps overproduced?) as "Scribble", as opposed to the more leisurely (but still brilliant, obviously) stuff like "Beautiful Burnout" or "Best Magmu Ever", I think that's exciting.

I also love the "Scribble" artwork, really nice change of pace for Underworld/Tomato to create something so feminine.

The Bad

"Scribble" isn't very good. To be fair, it's difficult to give the song its due as we've been living with the fairly brilliant "You Do Scribble" for five years. My initial reaction to "Scribble" was like my reaction to "Holding the Moth", which was also a somewhat dubious rework of a better live track ("Globe"). I would have preferred a studio version of YDS with the "Small Conker with a Twix" intro, it's possibly one of the best things Underworld's ever done.

I think the biggest problem with the song is the new melody, it just seems very non-Underworld, which is possibly a consequence of the collaboration with High Contrast (who I like). It sounds too cheesy, too candy raver-esque, and it exits to the virtual exclusion of the great synths from YDS.

The Ugly

"Scribble" seems like an aggressive move by Underworld to engage an audience beyond Dirties, which is absolutely reasonable and perhaps it's that audience's reaction by which the single's success should be judged. But speaking for myself, a hardcore Underworld fan since the mid-'90s, I have to call it like I hear it and I don't think this was a wise choice for a lead single. Regardless of its relative quality, why risk disappointing the built-in audience with a rework of a track they've been literally begging for years to pay money for in its original form?

Originally Posted by fraser (Post 121447)

Can't seem to play it loud enough :)

Originally Posted by BrotherLovesDub (Post 121491)

hey guys, if this is generic dnb, please point me to or list 3-5 examples that sound similar enough to warrant calling this track 'generic'.

i'll wait...

Originally Posted by Sean (Post 121504)

I'm gonna need to listen to this a few times before forming a real opinion. I am excited right off the bat that it's a bit of a departure from the typical Underworld sound - not that I don't want to hear the typical "Underworld sound" any more, but I love when incredibly talented artists work a bit outside of their comfort zone.

Originally Posted by Sean (Post 121504)

I have a feeling I won't know how much I like it until I listen to it really loud in the car on a road trip. Luckily, the wife and I are heading off to do just that tomorrow evening...:D

Originally Posted by khouri (Post 121508)

I would have preferred a studio version of YDS with the "Small Conker with a Twix" intro, it's possibly one of the best things Underworld's ever done.