Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Underworld

Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future

Label: Caroline Release Date: 18/03/2016

102521
bekkibemrose by Bekki Bemrose March 17th, 2016

Underworld have the most unlikely of narratives. Although founded in the late Eighties by Rick Smith and Karl Hyde, the first two records they released are often referred to as Underworld Mk1. 1994’s Dubnobasswithmyheadman is generally considered their first record as the Underworld we know today. The techno/rock fusion created on that album united indie fans and club goers alike - and then Trainspotting landed. The soundtrack featured two of the band’s songs - 'Dark and Long (Dark Train)' and the former b-side 'Born Slippy (Nuxx)'. The latter blasted them into the wider public consciousness and became one of the biggest anthems of the Nineties.

That could have been that, but in the interim years the band have continued to produce pioneering electronica whilst dipping their toes in other worlds. Their ongoing collaborations with Trainspotting director Danny Boyle have seen them create the music for his production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre - including the shimmering 'Dawn of Eden' – and not least their duty as musical directors of the Olympic opening ceremony, for which they also penned the glorious 'Caliban’s Dream'. At this rate, Underworld could be in danger of being crowned with that most vapid of titles - national treasures.

But fear not. The band have rejected resting on their laurels and basking in their veteran status. On ninth album Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shinning Future, lead single and opener ‘I Exhale’ finds them on familiar territory. It’s classic Underworld, complete with driving beats and Hyde’s hypnotic vocals. ‘If Rah’ continues in a similar vein with a relentless thump and urgent synths that build into arm raising riff that the band are experts in, while the lyrics wryly note, “You don’t look old enough to have suffered so much, but what do I know.”

One of the most striking factors of the album is its joyous and hopeful outlook, as hinted at in the title. The record’s name is one of the last things Smith’s father said to his mother before she died (they were married for 62 years), and that sentiment inhabits every one of the songs on the album. ‘Motorhome’s gentle pulse, charming melody and repeated counsel - “Keep away from the dark side” - and ‘Nylon Strung’s’ shiny rhythm and "“Open me up, I wanna hold you, laugh with you”" refrain are symptomatic of this open-hearted record.

It’s often difficult to fathom that Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shinning Future is the work of men rapidly approaching their sixth decade on planet Earth, such is the records vivacity. Granted it doesn’t have the addictive frenzy of former recordings like ‘Rez’ or ‘Cowgirl’, that is replaced by still danceable but softer ‘Ova Nova’, which drops a hefty beat, but as Hyde says, “I’m chilled, I’m chilled.” And 'Low Burn' is a slow burn, but no less affecting for it. As one of the album’s highlights it begins with opulent strings, introduces a pounding beat and rises with layered vocals that offer a simple but stirringly optimistic mantra - “be bold, be beautiful, free, totally, unlimited”

In their fourth decade making music together, Smith and Hyde are pushing forward into a shining future in which Underworld have forsworn the well-trodden path of replication and opted instead for another path. Gone are the tub-thumpers of yore in favour of understated, yet nevertheless, euphoric electronica bursting with hope.

![102521](http://dis.resized.images.s3.amazonaws.com/540x310/102521.jpeg)
  • 7
    Bekki Bemrose 's Score
  • 8
    User Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Clark

The Last Panthers

Mobback
102517
102522

Department M

Deep Control

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND