URB Review of OWB

[joethelion]

It's in the Sept/Oct issue

I guess they don't release a new issue every month anymore

but anyways - UW got four stars

British duo is back to settle the score

While RiverRun kept fans on the internet happy, Hyde and Smith kept their full-length project under such tight wraps nobody could crack a listen. So when the publicist arranged a listening party on Cielo's full-blown soundsystem, nobody knew what to expect. Was it a signeature-sound effort, or a futher exploration of their film score work on "Breaking and Entering" or Danny Boyle's 2007 sci-fi film "Sunshine"? These two worlds colide beautfully. On "beautiful burnout" Balearic melody flourishes mesh with congas and breaks while Hyde raps in a Maxi Jazz-like comedown drawl. Their fascination with German minimal techno surfaces with clanging techno pot-and-pan chords and epic ambient breakdowns. "Hodling the Moth" is about Frankie Knuckles, we're told. What we hear is a downtempo piano-house thumper that's more Louie Vega. "To Heal" sounds like a reprise to "Born Slippy" but ends up being a quick interlude. Underworld have hit a happy- if temporary - medium.

Dennis Sebayan

sorry if there's any typos - I just sort of quickly transcribed it from the actual magazine

now... this seems to be a more accurate review

not because it's postive, but the fact that it doesn't dismiss their online releases or soundtrack work as ...well basically meaningless

and the fact that it actually sounds like he listened to the album, unlike some others

[edit]
now... if only they'd review/publish another one of my mixes that I sent to them...