Underworld: Second Toughest in the Infants; Junior Boys Own JBOCD4
The Independent | March 8, 1996
Underworld's 1994 masterpiece, dubnobasswithmyheadman, set new standards for techno music, bringing a confounding humanity to the genre. Since then, they've retreated somewhat from the limelight, releasing only the stopgap single "Born Slippy" while working on the pieces that make up Second Toughest in the Infants. That long gestation is reflected in the care and attention to detail here, particularly on the two long opening tracks, the triptych "Juanita/ Kiteless/ To Dream of Love" and diptych "Banstyle/ Sappy's Curry", which flow seamlessly into double-figure timings without outstaying their welcome."Juanita" is typical of their method, subtly building layer upon layer of percussion effects into an irresistible momentum that gently whisks along the verbal freight of Karl Hyde's cut-up lyric fragments. The drum programming alone is quite exceptional; unlike many techno acts, Underworld have an unerring instinct for the way in which certain sounds move certain parts of the body, and how those parts must be moved in concert to create a really effective rhythm track. After all, there is no point in having your shoulder-dip conflicting with your head-twitch, is there?
This album adds the hyperactive snare and hi-hat sounds of jungle to their repertoire, but not in the harsh, jarring manner preferred by hardcore junglists. Instead, they're rendered smoother and slippier, stitched into the rhythm mesh with a subtlety worthy of Kraftwerk. The instrumental colouration stretched over the rhythm skeletons is, like the lyrical content, kept impressionistic and sparse - just a few bubbles of synthesiser, a piano arpeggio, keyboard tone or guitar loop. The melody of a track is less important than its state of flux, and its meaning comes as much from the music as the words.
It's an open, spacious method which allows the evocation of a wide range of moods, from the elastic modulations of "Rowla" to the spookier atmosphere of "Confusion the Waitress", and the result is possibly the most satisfying machine-music release since, well, since the last Underworld album, really.
