Review: Underworld, Dubnobasswithmyheadman

Late-'80s synth-pop also-rans resurrected as hip techno buzzband: it's a terrifying prospect on paper, and doubly so for anyone who's ever had the misfortune of hearing either of Underworld's first two albums.

At a loss to explain the former appeal of no-brainer indie like the Primitives? Listen to Underneath the Radar (1988), with its studio-flat funk grooves and abysmal lyrics, and at once understand Shoegazing, Madchester, and every other eyeblink scene that wears amateurism on its sleeve. Underworld were expensive stiffs who sounded more Swedish than Roxette, and they were British. Audiences wisely avoided them.

So why would any record exec take a second chance on such an infamous commodity? Step forward Darren Emerson, teenage whizkid DJ and unlikely collaborator, with two original members, in Underworld Part II. Granted, the lyrics haven't improved (since when has any techno guru paid attention to the words?), but musically the ball's now in Emerson's court; even the band's would-be Howard Joneses have learned a new trick or two by osmosis.

While long-winded pieces such as "Mmm Skyscraper I Love You" and "Dirty Epic" still smack of '80s rockstar overindulgence, the electromotive force of "Surfboy" and "Cowgirl" seamlessly synchs Underworld's traditionalist elements to Emerson's intuitive tangents. When "Spoonman's" mantras of "watch me fly" and "into the blood" mesh with the centerpiece staggered bassloop, previous sins evaporate in a blindingly cool synergy that the Shamen can only eat fungus and dream about.

Hear the sound of the last electronic generation shaking hands with the next, and be awed, however intermittently, by the transforming power of good techno.

Sean G. Thomas, Sean Thomas, Sean Garrett Thomas