[amhilde]

Joe Jackson (the piano player, not the psycho patriarch) posted a personal review on his blog:

http://joejackson.com/blog_index&postid=1606565

UNDERWORLD: Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future

I find it hard to say why I like Underworld. Perhaps I imagine being them, and waking up in the morning blissfully untroubled by the musical challenges I torture myself with (melodies, lyrics, chord changes, songs, singing, playing an instrument, etc). Instead of which, Underworld create repetitive electronic textures over which a spoken voice sometimes talks complete bollocks, perhaps to help pass the time and create the impression that something is happening.

And yet . . . it's strangely, almost disturbingly compelling, and always sounds like no one else but Underworld. I don't think this new album is their best, but on some tracks (especially Low Burn and Nylon Strung) their clever layering of 'simple' elements still becomes intoxicating over time, like coming up on the drug you took five minutes ago, or (if you prefer) the initial routine of physical exercise giving way to an endorphin rush. As I listened to it on the train from Amsterdam to Berlin, it also made some pretty boring scenery seem intriguing and vaguely menacing. I'm not sure if this is a good review, or even a review, but there it is.