Just my thoughts and preferences, not tied to any announcement:
"Barking" was probably UW's most populist album of the mkii/iii era, and though many of the collaborative productions are excellent, it doesn't always seem a "true"Underworld album for me. Then there are tracks like "Downpipe" that they played all the time live - how much of the production was UW and how much Knight and Ramirez? Add to that the structured setlist for live shows, and it all seemed a bit boring - certainly not the excitement of previous tours' evolving jams, or even the experimental/ambient album tracks.
Since then, the collaborations have continued - Danny Boyle, Brian Eno, Leo Abrahams, tech. folks at VW.
My hope is that Rick and Karl get together and do what they do best, just the two of them. At this point in their career, they can really do whatever they want, and who knows, it may be so different that it changes the face of electronic music, or signals a rebirth in their career. Not that either is needed....we just want new tunes!
p.s. some US shows would be great, too
