A Review I Approve Of
 

Underworld
Oblivion With Bells
****
Listening to Underworld is like getting drunk with the HAL 9000. If you read Karl Hyde’s angular, processed poetry word for word, it stops just short of total gibberish—like the precision-detailed mess of the band’s cover art, or the words-are-instruments vibe of Ken Nordine’s 1950’s “word jazz.” But if you sit back, unfocus your ears, and soak it in as a whole, it tiptoes over into brilliance. Just as good techno plays subtle headgames with sound and dares you to dance smart, Hyde’s lyrics twist and weave around the noise, adding just enough make the songs mean something, but leaving it up to you to figure out what that is. This either makes people life-long fans, or it drives them batshit.
In the five years since the sadly under-rated A Hundred Days Off, Underworld has been under the radar, and busy as hell. They scored Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and Entering and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. They left the major labels behind and released the pioneering Riverrun series of multimedia downloads on their own. They kept up their touring schedule and released a live album and career-spanning anthology. All this work has nudged them away from producing dancefloor bangers—the high-energy tracks on Oblivion sound more like rock than anything else, the techno is subtle and nuanced, and the rest is all expansive piano and strings—but it has refined the sound they nailed more than a decade ago: dramatic electronic music, surrounded by cryptic, vulnerable lyrics full of fleeting thoughts, first impressions, and missing pieces. If you’ve never liked them before, Oblivion With Bells might turn you around. And if you already do, this is their best work yet.

MATT CORWINE

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

good review - and am loving the album already;)

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

that review is incredibly boring.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

that must be what i like about it.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

anyone who says AHDO was underrated can't be trusted to give a review that isn't exceedingly colored by being a total fan, sorry.
it seems the less invested critics have had a run through, and it's more of the same. a collective 'meh' and move on.

which is fine, whatever. i'll keep listening to it.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

and sorry to say but OwB is not their best work yet. i hate that so far this is probably my least favorite thing they've ever done.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

yeah, that must suck for you.

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i always look for what the 'collective' thinks then i make sure my opinions match!

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

Hhahahahah


Anyway, OWB can't be their best work, because I'm one of those people that suffer from "everything post-2000 can't top the 90's" illness.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

name me 1 band who made their best album 15+ years after forming.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

its not really a review. its a bit short. i think it sticks in enough relevant information though. i think its a review for people who's last contact with UW was AHDO. simple as that.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

it's not the feature review, just one of many that will appear in the paper.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

but it's so much more stressful than not shutting off and searching only for like minded people who dont make me angry when they speak ill of my precious band!

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

i know! if only this reviewer had said one negative thing, i would have been able to show him the wrath! i guess now my gf won't have to sell my shirt! i'm saved!

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

But what if she decides to sell the shirt anyways? What then?

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

"critics" still write these things though. i just have a chip on my shoulder about completely empty blurb-writing. it's still possible to convey useful critical information in this length ... Christgau's old blurbs for the (i think) the Voice come to mind. anyway, i can't believe everyone here is listening already, whatever happened to waiting until release day.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

xgau! lol. of course you'd cite him as an example!

ps. it's release day!

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

No link to the review directly? How can we berate the reviewer for not listening to the album with a more critical ear(s)?

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

notice this pattern?

==============
1 group releases album
-> early promos leak
-> early reviews come out

2 reviews fall into these categories
->best album ever/yet
->mediocre album, liked their previous one better
->terrible, what were they thinking? liked the early stuff a lot more

3 fans responses
->best album ever/yet
->mediocre album, liked their previous one better
->terrible, what were they thinking? liked the early stuff a lot more

several months/years pass
====================
reviewers look back once yet another album
comes out-> previous album was underrated, new one is average
->previous album was underrated, new one is better
->previous album was much better, etc.....

fans responses - see above..

rinse and repeat..

i'm pretty sure every album that underworld has put out
has gone through the same acclaim, criticism, and cycles...

i've been here since 'beaucoup fish', 'adho', and the 'riverrun'
series came out.

and saw the same thing happen.....although there wasn't
as much critiques for 'everything, everything' cd/dvd, and
the 'anthology'..

this isn't the first time, and it sure won't be the last time
we see this reviews/critiques come out..

later
-1

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

most, if not almost every review has been drivel, whether pro or against the album

its like they take a few bits off the press release put that it and then listen to the album, remember what they heard last time UW were relevant... and pass their irrelevant judgements... (they do this with every band, mind you)

most record reviewer suck ass - whether praising (falsely) or dissing (ill-informedly) - reviews are just opinions of journalists who have no real time to listen and appreciate music because all they do is review it... it must be a shit job

i bet half these idiot reviewers have not listened to the interviening five years worth of output UW have done...

if you like underworld you'll buy this album...

if not, any review, good or bad is unlikely to change that... underworld have been around too long really for a reviewer to make u go and buy this album

as long as people listen in and make their own judgements not clouded by some journo then thats all that matters really...

enjoy underworld or not

its up to you - not some numbnut with a pen....

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

bahahahahaha.
seriously tho. fanboy is a fanboy. i love this album and defend it up and down but i'll know they're back onto something truly special when my friends who are more objective about these things get excited about it too. for now they're just sort of accepting it.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

i suppose i'd just make another one. i've got the files tucked away in a special lock box.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

oooo....did you have multiple versions before you settled on the final shirt design?

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

accepting is one way to put it. One of my friends described it as tolerance of my incessant ramblings about Owb and my lack of objectivity.

I have this same problem with films, film directors, and novelists/writers too.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

types of underworld fans:
------------------------
1 die hard internet (forum posting) fan - every album is better than the last, doesn't ever criticize them
...argues with people who disagree.

2 semi-fan - buys every album/single but looks at them differently,
has bias, but has favorites/likes/dislikes

3 casual listener - picks it up because of review, or recommendation,
no real bias

4 critical listener - critiques every single thing the group has ever released, but gets it
anyways, and doesn't hesitate to tell people what they think

5 easy going fan - no real opinion, just likes everything that comes
out, no real likes/dislikes

6 bandwagonning fan - just likes the group/release because other
people seem to like it

7 ???

later
-1

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

unapologetically fanboy.

i've done more than my share of criticizing the band, btw. i absolutely hate listening to King of Snake, Push Upstairs, Born Slippy, half of AHDO and others. this album just sounds so perfect to me. liking an album that the critics collectively say 'meh' to and half the fans on the message board don't love is hardly being a fanboy. if the album didn't actually touch me, i wouldn't claim it did. having said that, i do believe i'm biased. i appreciate the change in direction for Underworld and couldn't be happier that they strayed from club bangers that appeal to idiots and pill heads. i'm assuming your friends wanted more club tracks which is why they aren't impressed. just play them a remix of Born Slippy without the vocals and say it's a b-side, they'll be in heaven.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

yes i did. many, many, many diff. designs.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

you should make your own mind up. stop waiting until your friends tell you it's cool.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

i like proper bangin' tunes without taking pills or even going to clubs. matter of fact, i like them even more from underworld because it's explicitly removing/"elevating" them from whatever stereotype you've seem to have placed anything 'banging' in. my friends would go to clubs even less so than i would. im the resident electronic music fan. for christ-sake i live in a cow town. i just believe they have good taste not just in music but in regards to anything creative.

it's no good to make these assumptions when your reading comprehension skills seem to be leaving you at the same time. again, when it comes to music, i'm condescending enough to disregard my friends' input on it, but i know they'll be touching people outside of the already-fan if they like it too. and that's so much more exciting than an album simply gathering the converted

for the record, Born Slippy is great, and STITI is their best album. no pills or any nonsense you're thinking about required for it.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

ok, i'm being provocative because i'm sitting at work bored to tears. no disrepsect meant to you.

i enjoy the experimental side of UW after all these years. I don't want them to make another Pearls Girl or Born Slippy. they've done that. when i want banging, i'll put on STITI. i think i prefer Dubno to STITI but that's just because Dubno was the first album i heard from UW. STITI is a classic. a masterpiece. i don't rate OWB higher than STITI. if i had to rank them, it would be Dubno-STITI-OwB.

most people who are complaining about the album come off as people who want underworld to recreate songs they've already done. more banging club tracks. that's just idiotic to expect a band to keep churning out the same shit over and over again. i like the ambient/experimental side and feel like this album has it all. it's the most diverse LP they've done. i really could care less if nobody else liked it.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

gimme a break; i've read maybe 3 of his articles. i just remember being very impressed by his blurb writing.


...




OMG IT'S RELEASE DAY

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

release day was somewhere last week over here...

(not that I didn't download it before then of course)

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

(yeah, i'm at work too..)

i can half/agree where you're coming from although..

i think oblivion with bells is a step back from the
direction that they were going from the 'riverrun' tracks..
but since that's not really an album, and probably didn't
get much exposure to people, that's why it isn't mentioned
as much..

i didn't care for 'beaucoup fish' (although now, its sounding better),
or 'a hundred days off'.. yes 'oblivion with bells' is far from the
earlier tracks, although in a way it is a return to the look/feel
of 'dubnobasswithmyheadman' right down to the artwork..
disjointed interludes, vocoder bits, etc (disregarding ring road,
and boy boy boy).. have they come full circle?

i actually prefer STITI over dubno, but that's because i've
heard STITI first, and since then hundreds of times...so
for me its, STITI-dubno-beaucoup fish-riverrun-adho..

its way too early to place OWB, maybe it will grow on me
much later on...much like the riverun tracks, i'm starting
to really get into them now...now that was diversity...i just
don't hear that much on this album...bad timing? too much
material out? can't really say...

later
-1

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

just to stick my thoughts in, I'm much more pleased with the album than I was with the downloads. OwB feels as if it was simply given more attention.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

Pulp

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This is Hardcore?

good choice though.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

or Different Class. Pulp was founded in 1978.

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

lolzI thought they were formed in 1979, which suits me fine cos I think His N Hers is their best album (1994). And another band who have continued to make fantastic albums all their career are The Fall. Formed in 1978 I think, one of my favourite albums by them is Code Selfish from 1992. The Infotainment Scan from 1993 aint bad either :)

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

I really couldn't agree more. I want artists to be creative, to make music they want to make. It bugs me when I see artists that I used to love, who used to be innovative, stick to the sound that has "the masses" loving them rather than doing whatever they want.

I don't doubt that they'll end up making another tune on-par with Pearl's Girl, Born Slippy, etc. but I think it's BS to expect them to churn out hundreds of tunes like that. After all, I'd imagine a portion of the people who want that would in turn do a 180 and complain about them not being innovative/creative enough.
________
Honda VTR250 history

Re: A Review I Approve Of
 

after listening to this a million times, the best description ive read of it is the "christmas morning comfy" that scott wrote a while ago. and negative 1 had a great point back there about the cyclical ways these things work.


OWB isnt what i expected...but thats ok. thats good, in fact. don't ge me wrong, i love my bangers too, but theyre just digging somewhere different this time around. sometimes it lacklustre and other times it's moving.

it's just not about that, this time. it's about something else. calling someone a fanboy for feeling passionately about something isnt fair.

cmon. you really gotta have balls to put out Ring Road :)
(its actually really growing on me. only the first few lines grate now).