Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)

[chems1919]

There's a lot of hate toward Hamburg Hotel. Well, hate is a harsh word, I won't say that. But a lot of people seem to dislike it. I think it takes a few listens; it sounds like it would fit very well in a Riverrun release. Either way, I'm enjoying it as a nice opener to the awesome-ness that is Grace.

[Sappys Curry]

I like Hamburg Hotel. It is good. I wonder what Hamburg Hotel Essex will be like.

[potatobroth]

I will never understand how someone can choose Simple Peal as their favorite track on this, or any album.

[stimpee]

1. Bird 1 = its a good album starter. pretty decent.
2. ALAF = its alright
3. Scribble = unlistenable pop rubbish that annoys the shit out of me. YDS was great.
4. Hamburg Hotel = Interesting but forgettable.
5. Grace = I like.
6. Between Stars = not bad. catchy stuff but its very poppy.
7. Diamond Jigsaw = its 80s Underworld mk1 cheese. Not my cuppa.
8. Moon In Water = its not a bad tune. im sure it will grow on me.
9. Louisiana = its terrible. Not a way to end an album.
10. Simple Peal = throwaway track and not designed to be on the album, belongs on a bside.
11. You Do Scribble Abbey Road = its hard and heavy hitting. a bit unproduced and its comes as a shock after Louisiana. Maybe the album needs resequencing...

not much of a review i know. this album basically gets no more than 6/10. For me as a long time Underworld fan of 16/17 years this is the worst album theyve ever released. However that doesnt make it a bad album it just means that the standards have been so high. Maybe it will grow on me. The album seems less Rick, more Karl. More collaborators, remixers. I dunno. I've bought the deluxe box so theres more to come.

[Sappys Curry]

Originally Posted by potatobroth

I will never understand how someone can choose Simple Peal as their favorite track on this, or any album.

Actually, choosing it as one of my favs on this album is a bit weird, because it really doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. If it was a track on OWB, I think it'd be in my top 3, and it wouldn't really be weird for that album; it'd fit in. It is a great ambient track, though, you gotta admit.

[bas_I_am]

For me as a long time Underworld fan of 16/17 years this is the worst album theyve ever released.

As a long time underworld fan of 26 years (I bought doot doot when it came out... underneath the radar was one of the first 10 albums I bought when I acquired a cd player for US$300) that album would be beaucoup fish. Cups is great, but jumbo, bruce lee and king of snake dig an unsurmountable hole ultimately sinking the album into mediocrity.

For me, barking hits a home run playing on the same field where beaucoup fish miserably struck out. Both were modal shifts toward the pop spectrum. BF sounded forced- barking sounds natural.

The songs from barking stick in my head; the songs from bf are easily forgotten.

And its not just one or two songs, its all the songs. What ever song is last on when I shut off my car, is the one clanging around until I get back in.

Its a pop album... a damn good pop album.
As was underneath the radar a damn good pop album.

But then there are some "art fags" who look down on pop music as if it is some lesser form. These people miss the point. Its as if one can't adore both renoir and warhol.

Ok... I lied... the worst uw album is change the weather... that is an awful pop album.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by testudo

Diamond Jigsaw is such a weird track for me. I feel that the audience recorded Torino Fest version is the best. The album/studio version has become some sort of guilty pleasure, its cheesy in so many ways (from 80s dance through dance music now). I feel like in 20 years from now people will be discussing this track and how backwards we are now as we were in the 80s.

Yes, DJ is 80s but oh so much more (cheese). I really hope there is a single.

this next decade is going to be amazingly awesomely cheesy like the 80s... and i'm going to love every second of it.

[bryantm3]

i CHANGE the WETH-er, i CHANGE the WETH-er 4 u now....

[miss glitch]

I'm pretty late to the game, but here are my first thoughts...

Bird 1 - I really loved Strumpet and this is a great version, a fantastic album opener - made me very happy. Listened to this on repeat a few times before I made it to the rest of the album
ALAF - I like this version a *lot* better than the live version... Definitely a grower.
Scribble - Happiest song in the world. Well, since Rez/Cowgirl anyway. Full of hope and wonder.
Hamburg Hotel - Cute little noodly IDM-y track with the barely-audible vocal samples filtering in.
Grace - By this point I was pretty choked up by how much I loved the album. Grace is amazing, very new wave.
Between Stars - Amazing! Again! So good! Excalmation marks!
Diamond Jigsaw - Oh. Okay, well at least this gave me a chance to calm down a bit. Not really my thing. Skipped after half way :/
Moon In Water - I think this is a grower... Cute.
Louisiana - I sort of like how the epic last tracks like Best Mamgu Ever, Luetin etc, but not so keen on Louisiana. But only because the rest of the album was so good and my expectations were so high.

Am still awaiting my copy so have just heard the album on Myspace - no sign of Simple Peal...

Overall - amazing, brilliant, so happy. Thanks, Underworld. <3

[Buji]

Bird 1 - Really nice suspense, the calm before the battle track! I did prefer the Strumpet version from live shows but I am swinging more to this version, my only dislike is the synth plop!

ALAF - Really liking this in an album context, uplifting and menacing with ace production sounds fantastic on headphones too!

Scribble - I find myself skipping this track not because it's not good more because there is better tracks on the album. A great uplifting single but easily a throwaway too!

Hamburg Hotel - Doesn't really go anywhere but is a needed break between the poppier tracks and has a nice shifty beat to it, more like your daytime trendy bar music!!

Grace - Really love this track, very much leans towards Dubno for me with a modern new wave electro production to it! A lot of the vocal style reminds me of dirty epic which is great! probably my album favourite at the moment.

Between Stars - Absolute party classic, really catchy and the best possible single on the album for me, love it!

Diamond Jigsaw - Not really doing much for me mainly because of the mix of styles, I think it would have been better to commit more to one style although still a semi-decent track.

Moon In Water - Really getting the '8 Ball' vibe from this, brings out really nice moods and love the syncing of the beat and vocal. One of the best tracks on the album.

Louisiana - A nice heartfelt song, was not keen on the vocal tremelo effect at first but is growing on me, a nice listen!

Simple Peal - Loved this slice of ambience when first heard it a while back. I was in York (UK) Minster on the weekend and it had very similar ambient sounds/feel to the place! I wonder if this was recorded in a temple or some big stone building!!

Really enjoying the album, top 3 tracks for me are 'Grace', 'Between Stars' & 'Moon In Water'.
8/10