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  #81  
Old 09-08-2010, 10:19 PM
Cadevil
exilio
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: San Francisco via London via San Francisco
Posts: 364
Glass half full/half empty...
Simply put, the boys obviously wanted to make a pop record and succeeded just fine. There are 5 maybe 6 potential singles here ready for the dance floor--something that their last two LPs did not deliver.

Barking and Oblivion with Bells are really two sides of the same coin. OWB is the introverted twin to the outward dancefloor celebration of Barking. Both albums release multiple songs with extremely long gestation periods...

The collaborations aren't as much of an issue as they potentially could have been. I don't think any of the guests hijacks the Underworld sound. I think Karl had previously said that OWB was the album that Rick always wanted to make...and someone else said that this album seems to be "more Karl". In the past, others have speculated the Beucoup Fish was "more Emerson". I always find it interesting to hear what people think about who influenced the album more...but I digress.

Bird 1 -- Easily the best song on the album. Nice build to the main break, which when released makes the hair on my arm stand up. Similar build as Cups, but ultimately suffers from being too short in length...really the case with many of the tracks on Barking...hence the pop tilt.

ALAF -- Faithful treatment of what has been in development for some time. Much of the angst of the original is gone, but Karl really seems to let us in here with the vocals. Something he has never done on an Underworld track.

Scribble -- Ultimately a successful "version" of a live performance that was probably never intended to be a studio track. This is a can't win situation for Rick and Karl. YDS had become such a live banging staple, but I could never see how the would convert it to an album track. Scribble is a nice reinvention, that fails to capture the energy of the original live song...something that is probably impossible.

Hamburg Hotel -- As with almost all of the non-dancefloor tracks, it suffers from the pop tilt of the record. Starts to get really interesting as it fades away. Waaayyy too short.

Grace -- Ditto on the shortness. Someone else said it's akin to Holding the Moth, and I agree...also like Sola Sistim

Between Stars -- Underworld does Exciter-era Depeche Mode. Yet probably feels the most like an Underworld track that could have been on one of their other albums. Really bangs it home.

Diamond Jigsaw -- Someone said Boy, Boy, Boy felt like a cheap attempt at a rock single on OWB, but I much preferred that to DJ. They could be next to each other on an Underworld rock disc. Really didn't like DJ at first, but it's sooo catchy...Of all the tracks, I find myself singing it throughout the day. Crazy.

Moon In Water -- A less complicated and more accessible Little Speaker. Again I think it's too short to really go anywhere, which is shame because a couple of these shorter ambient tracks could have been super-layered classics like Stagger or Tongue.

Louisiana -- After reading how they wrote this song, how could you not love it? But, I think it could have benefited from some more sonic textures a la Stagger. It just feels a bit flat for me...or maybe it's just the starkness as compared to what it is surrounded by.

Biggest differences on this album are the lyrical delivery/accessibility and the short ambient pieces that don't go far enough. The bigger songs are VERY big though.

For me UW albums rank: STITI, Dubno, OWB, Barking, BF, AHDO...depends on the day, sometimes BF would rank ahead of Barking.
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Last edited by Cadevil; 09-08-2010 at 10:21 PM.
  #82  
Old 09-09-2010, 05:47 AM
cacophony
disquietude
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 893
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
sometimes i think i'm the only UW fan on planet earth who adores BF.
  #83  
Old 09-09-2010, 10:43 AM
ultradave
the doorway boy...
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 688
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacophony View Post
sometimes i think i'm the only UW fan on planet earth who adores BF.
you're not alone .

i think every UW fan needs to take a day off of work, go to the beach, sit in the sand, and let this album pump through the wires to their inner soul. it's an amazing experience.
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  #84  
Old 09-13-2010, 05:39 AM
purlieu
enofa
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 501
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
Right. I wasn't expecting to like this album very much.

Bird 1. My initial response - not having known any earlier versions - was 'this sounds really... Underworld'. Apart from the synth plop I can't fault this, marvellous moody but rhythmic, reminds me of Mo Move in that way (not that they sound too similar). 8

Always Loved A Film. One of the few tracks I'd heard works in progress of, I wasn't fond of the earliest versions, the strings being my favourite part of the track. The beats are a bit club friendly simplistic, but on the whole I think it's a very strong track and a good choice of single. Catchy as hell. 8

Scribble. I really, really love the synths and the vocals, but the beat and short Pendulum-like synth around the 3:15 mark are utterly unforgivable and the absolutely last thing I want from an Underworld song. It's catchy, it's uplifting, it's cheap and it's awful. I dunno. 5?

Hamburg Hotel. A really odd one, with the really 90s Underworld elements I love, coupled with the dubsteppy production which is probably the least Underworld thing on the album. On the whole, though, I think it hangs together brilliantly, and is the sort of track I wasn't expecting at all. I like this. 7.5

Grace. This one is really haunting. The earlier version is stripped back and it gives the track a completely different feel. I think I might prefer that one, but this is still excellent. 8

Between Stars. This is too much. Much too much. Too many sounds, too loud, too intense vocals, production too chunky, just... no. I'm not too taken by the song itself, but I actually struggle to listen to this. 2

Diamond Jigsaw. I've heard one bootleg, and from that, this was the track I was dreading most, especially with PvD involved. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the guitar, but somehow it came out brilliantly. I can't stop listening. So uplifting and... just wonderful. 8

Moon In Water. I remember a lovely ambienty version of this which I loved. Instead, High Contrast pressed the demo button on a keyboard and came up with this rhythm. The synth sounds like the backing track to a pop ballad. Really, really don't like this. Go away. 2

Louisiana. Ok, the vocal effect is a bit much, but otherwise, I can't actually fault this. I mentioned in another thread that, by being so different, it's the most Underworld thing on the album. Very OWB (hurrah), but also different. A beautiful song that shows the band growing on their own. Love it. 8



On the whole, it's a collection of songs, mostly very good, but disjointed. It flat out does not deliver what I want from an Underworld album, but is an album I really enjoy nonetheless. I was kind of hoping for a continuation from OWB, simply down to my preference for subtler, moodier sounds, and I don't begrudge them for doing the opposite. I do wish it hung together better - with the exception of Bird 1 and Louisiana, the track order seems fairly irrelevant. It's top-ended with singles which fits given it's an intentionally poppy album, but it just doesn't flow. My other criticism is the production often sounding unlike Underworld. There are occasional moments - Hamburg Hotel, the middle section of Scribble especially - which sound like 'classic' Underworld and do make me a little sad that a lot of the album could be Someone feat. Karl Hyde if you didn't know better. Production-wise, at least. The songs are, with a couple of exceptions, very strong and the quality is good throughout. It's an interesting album, it's a brave album, it's an album I think I'm going to enjoy time and time, but I think it'll be a difficult album to love.
  #85  
Old 09-13-2010, 09:14 AM
scary man
Sci-Fi Jesus
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London
Posts: 107
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacophony View Post
sometimes i think i'm the only UW fan on planet earth who adores BF.
Only the ones who don't like dancing don't like Fish.

Anyhoo...

Bird 1 - Builds big. Lovely.
Always Loved A Film - Ibiza!!! Deadmau5-y.
Scribble - If You Do Scribble is a wondrous, exotic meal, then this is a sandwich you made the next day from the leftovers, with a nice, big blob of chilli sauce. Yum!
Hamburg Hotel - Cool and disjointed. Bit more would have been good.
Grace - Bit saggy. Like The Cure covering the theme from Blade Runner remixed by Robert Miles. Hmmm.
Between Stars - S'alright.
Diamond Jigsaw - See, I liked this when it was the mash-up of Prince's I Wanna Be Your Lover and the BBC News theme. I still like it. In fact I think I will eventually love it.
Moon On Water - Nice. Just as good as the old version.
Louisiana - Pleasantly melancholic. Great contrast with what has just gone.

In summary - Short and sweet. Clear lurch toward the mainstream. Succeeds in everything it's sets out to do. Should find a new audience. May lose a few of the old in doing so.

I liked it.

PS - Loved the Diamond Jigsaw video!
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  #86  
Old 09-13-2010, 10:17 AM
purlieu
enofa
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 501
Re: Thoughts on Barking (Track by Track)
Oh, yes! Most of the videos were great, but the Diamond Jigsaw one was particularly memorable.
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