Underworld - Oblivion with Bells

After a five-year hiatus, Underworld return with an album that draws from across their past. With a mix of aggression and sunshine, they calculate syncopated, ricocheted beats against cleanly delineated textures and circumscribed melodies that have the cool of the 1980s New Romantic movement from which they originally sprang as Freur. Kraftwerk is in the DNA of their sound, but they've moved well past that, incorporating elements of hip-hop and industrial music into the mix. I wonder if Underworld's later mix of poetic spoken-word songs affected Brian Eno's recent work with poetry and music, because the influence seems to have boomeranged back in the vocal cadences of tracks such as "Ring Road." Like some of Eno's work, Karl Hyde's frequently treated, monotone talk-singing vocals could have been time-shifted from a beat-poetry reading of the early '60s. The only thing missing is the bongos. When his voice is processed, it merges as part of the sound field, but when his voice is relatively unaltered, as on "Good Morning Cockerel," it just becomes tedious. The best tracks on Oblivion with Bells are also the most ambitious. "Crocodile" has some lovely, almost Gregorian harmonies, while "Beautiful Burnout" is an epic journey with broad synthesizer chords sweeping by like headlights before segueing into a joyfully ritualistic electro-percussion tribal workout. But after that pair of opening tracks, you have to wait until the very last piece, a long, trancey bit of psychedelic drift called "The Best Mamgu Ever," to hear something more than unformed melodies and unstrung ideas. Underworld can reach higher ground. --John Diliberto Amazon.com

Not their best album, yet a great piece of work

It had been a while since we heard a new full studio album from the band, so anything coming was going to be a shock: whether good or not. What happened? They came back with an album that demonstrates that they are still a force in electronic music to be reckoned with.

"Oblivion with Bells" is packed with great tracks that are worth coming back to once and again. The "Crocodile" along with "Beautiful Burnout" are great openers. "To Heal" is one of those pieces that will live forever. "Glam Bucket" has a lot to offer in a "The Beach" soundtrack sort of way. The last tracks bring to mind a Moby "Play" kind of sound, which is totally great by me. Closing things is a version of "JAL to Tokyo" recorded live... in Tokyo!

Overall, while it clearly is not their best work it left me satisfied and happy about the wait. I am looking forward to more music by them in the coming future. May 4, 2008

Underworld still at it and how.

As most reviewers seem to agree, this is not something one might expect from Underworld; Darren's absence can definitely be felt. However, like SOME reviewers have allowed, I listened multiple times and it grew on me; I can honestly say I'm proud to chalk this one up as a fine release. Yes, the familiar Underworld energy may be all but missing; you won't find your "Pearls Girl" breakout here, but it doesn't translate as laziness or forced ideas; rather it comes across as a departure into more relaxed, soulful territory. Think of this album as the ringing in your ears after an amazing explosion, the echo of the thunder following a blinding bolt of lightning or the grey snow after nuclear fallout, the requiem for Darren Emerson. There's a ton to be appreciated here and I'm a lot happier to see the new Underworld duo trying new things rather than simply trying to repeat past successes with only two-thirds the ingredients; they seem to recognize that they're not the same anymore, so why should their music be the same? I think Underworld fans would have been more disappointed to have gotten this album and found tried ideas mimicked and mocked by the lack of the Emerson influence or an aging group clinging desperately to a failing career by essentially aping itself. Take this for what it is; leave it in perspective as the latest installment in a vast, amazing career of a group that has given its fans so much, and I honestly think you'll come to enjoy it and appreciate it for it's own merits. Personal highlights: "Beautiful Burnout" and "Glam Bucket." Enjoy. January 10, 2008

A few high points, overall similar to the previous album.

There's a misconception going around, in the critics' reviews of Oblivion With Bells, that Karl Hyde's lyrics have always been "nonsensical," "stream-of-consciousness," "freestyle slam poetry" and so forth. Let's set the record straight on that. If you go back to Underworld's first album in 1993, you'll find that Hyde's writing used to be full of descriptive and foreboding imagery. Nearly every song had sensual, suggestive lyrics, like the opening couplet "thunder thunder lightning ahead / kiss you kiss you dark and long." After that album, Hyde did take a turn for the nonsensical, but he could still occasionally come up with a vivid image, like "cats are gathering outside your window / homeless strays, bootleg babies / call to you lying among the mosquitoes / that summer's fever's coming" on the second album, or "Tina lives in Berlin / her voice so seldom on my machine / I feel the noise when I'm on the market" on the third.

Let's also note that the problem isn't that Underworld make too few "bangers" and too many "chill-out tracks," or the other way around -- the problem is that it's now possible to even classify their music in this manner. Again, this was not always the case. Nearly everything they recorded between 1992 and 1994 defies categorization. If you can find it, listen to "Jam Scraper," a rare reworking of their early single "MMM Skyscraper I Love You." It begins with slow, echoing guitars and gentle keyboard textures, then builds up to a terrific acid breakdown, which then gradually recedes into a calm ending. But it wasn't just that one track -- everything they made at that time had some kind of huge crescendo or unexpected shift. Even later on, it happened sometimes. "Banstyle / Sappys Curry" on their second album changes midway into an affecting, moody section built on a Spanish guitar, the most atypical musical work in all of techno. Electronic music still, to this day, hasn't fully absorbed Underworld's early work, perhaps because a lot of it is scattered around as B-sides and rarities (e.g. "Dirty Guitar," "Minneapolis," "Jam Scraper," "Why Why Why?").

But now? Yeah, now Hyde's lyrics really are nonsensical. Typical lines from this album: "Faxed invitation to oblivion with bells / Technicolour delights, someone pushing" and "bouncing, bouncing, is it playtown? / roll the ball, the blue slush cup." There's no central mood or theme. When this happened on previous albums, Hyde's vocals were distorted or hushed in the mix so that the meaningless words were unintelligible and the focus was only on his tone. But here, his voice is front and centre, and he doesn't have a tone, he just flatly recites these lines. Even in the songs where there might be some noteworthy music, like the clanging rhythm in "Ring Road," Hyde hogs the spotlight and yammers away about whatever.

Musically, the album tries to recall the melancholy of Underworld's early work. There are no major-key "bangers" like "Two Months Off" or "King of Snake." But the greater introspection comes filtered through the exact same style as 2002's A Hundred Days Off -- a few up-tempo tracks like "Mo Move" and "Luetin" with a few ambient instrumentals interspersed throughout. "Crocodile" starts with a fanfare heavily reminiscent of "Rowla" from 1996, but then it basically reuses the same up-tempo percussion-keyboard rhythm section used in "Mo Move."

Track for track, Oblivion With Bells is better than A Hundred Days Off, in that it doesn't have anything as inane as "Twist" or "Little Speaker." In particular, the instrumentals "To Heal" and "Glam Bucket" are very pretty. But there's not much motion on the album -- the songs are clearly separated into "ambient" and "dance" templates, and each song strictly follows its template. There isn't a single crescendo to be found. Furthermore, there are no surprises. "Dark And Long" wasn't just carried by its production and main rhythm, it also had a lot of sudden, brilliant hooks, like the additional percussion rhythm that ended the song, or the abrupt break in the middle where Hyde intoned, "Screaming into the eye of the lens." Oblivion With Bells has nothing like this. The only time when there's some kind of shift is when "Boy Boy Boy" brings in sudden drums over the ambient opening, and it immediately becomes one of the album's highlights.

There are only two times on this whole album where Underworld approach the kinds of feelings they used to evoke in every track they laid down. In "Crocodile," after the second verse, there is a sudden vocal line, in a slightly higher key than the "normal" chorus, distorted to sound like some kind of choral chant in a cathedral. And then after that there's a break in which the bass and keyboard textures come to the forefront. This is the best idea they've had in a decade. The second time is in the last song, "Best Mamgu Ever," where Hyde's voice is chopped up into incomprehensible pieces and the song lopes on in a gentle groove with a low-key guitar line, until suddenly, a sighing voice rises from the background, singing something soulful yet still unintelligible.

You'll note that both of those times, Hyde's voice is not the focus. Then it becomes clear that this should have been an instrumental album. Imagine if all of "Crocodile" sounded like that bizarre cathedral choir, or if the ambient parts were mixed into the middle of the other tracks rather than separated. That's what they should do -- Hyde has run his writing style into the ground, it's time to reinvent Underworld again as electronic sound collage. But they're still beholden to the style of Beaucoup Fish and A Hundred Days Off, so Oblivion With Bells turns out inconsistent and disappointing. November 17, 2007

Their most mature, brilliant, and beautiful album yet

After weeks of careful listening, I'm floored by the sheer brilliance of this album. I've been a spotty Underworld fan at best, having loved Second Toughest and Beaucoup Fish while being largely turned off by A Hundred Days Off (I could feel Darren's absence). I wasn't sure what to expect this time and decided to listen with caution. On the first listen, I knew something amazing was happening but didn't quite grasp it. By the second listen, I was hooked. By the third, fourth, and fifth listens, I realized I had stumbled upon a rare gem.

As some others have said, this may not be the Underworld you're hoping for, and it may not make a lot of sense on the first listen. But to those with patience and an ear for the sublime, this will become a very rewarding and satisfying electronica album. The sheer talent in this record is staggeringly high. While many signature Underworld textures, harmonies, and song structures are retained, these guys have reached a new tier of studio production and aesthetic precision. This is immediately apparent in the audio quality, which far eclipses any other Underworld release to date. More importantly, it's noticeable in the sequencing and mastering of each perfectly-layered sound. Listen on a solid, high-end system, and all the textures will open up and dance across the room in perfect balance.

On top of that, the vocals are quite impressive. They tear right through to the front of the mix this time - and fortunately so, because the writing is a notable improvement over previous efforts. Karl has reached a new level of poetic maturity, weaving textures, ideas, and syntax into a supremely cathartic balance. Holding The Moth is especially fascinating, a style reminiscent of the beatniks of the late 50s with a 21st-century edge. "With a glass eye upon you, electric eye on you..."

To top it off, the composition skills are on full display here. Album composition hasn't always been a strong area for Underworld (individual tracks yes, albums no) - but they've shown an incredible leap in maturity this time, writing an entire album that flows impeccably from start to finish while dripping with emotion. Never have they released an entire work so focused, precise, and elegant. (Beaucoup Fish was close, but not quite there.) Some have mentioned the existence of slow, tedious patches in this record, but I disagree. After enough listens, I realized that every last drop of sound was placed exactly where it should be, with utmost precision. These guys know what they are doing.

Though others may disagree, Oblivion With Bells is a masterpiece. I wasn't sure what direction they would take in this album, and I certainly didn't expect to hear such an artistically solid piece. Despite Darren's absence, Underworld has achieved a new level of greatness and this is easily some of the best music they have ever recorded. November 16, 2007

Not disappointed

I bought this CD because not being able to get the hand on the Sunshine soundtrack.

Rare are CDs that enthrall you from the first listening.

This CD is very interesting right from the start.

I found that not all tracks are fantastic (Holding the moth was not my favorite).
But, "Best Mamgu Ever", boy, that is a hit. I have put this track on repeat since I bought the CD.

"Best Mamgu Ever" is instrument-rich, great musical pleasure to the ears.

I am happy to have bought this CD. November 4, 2007

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