in listening to this album, and looking back at
underworlds career...i'm reminded of another
group i like 'talk talk'...although their styles
couldn't be anymore different it is interesting
to see what happened..
talk talk started out with some acclaimed
albums, and some niche following, with
some commercial success for their first
few albums...yeah, they had singles,
and some club hits.. but it all erupted
into a huge mess, when they hit it big
with 'its my life'.....which haunted them
from then on.... unlike underworld though,
they were not that much of a live band,
and only toured sparsely.
anyways, they later added another unnoffical
member to their team, who ended up contributing
greatly.....they also had amazing artwork, and
were very consistent in the image they presented..
their sound was instantly recognizable (mostly),
and their production values were very high...
they then went on to have more commercial success
although their singles weren't really accessible,
(sound familiar?)....they also decided to make music
that was more experimental and not as commercial..
of course their studio didn't like that, and there
were all kinds of disputes (there was a remix
album released without their approval)...
their last 3 albums were probably the furthest
things released that could even be considered
'commercial'...and they eventually broke up,
and the led singer went on to form his own
solo projects (mark hollis)....
anyways, i know underworld hasn't reached that
point.....but i'm wondering if this album is a reaction
to the earlier 'accessibility' of their previous works,
and now that they're independent and can explore
more 'artistic' leanings..
of course, i could just be imagining things...
more info :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_Talk
later
-1