Underworld
Oblivion With Bells

THE REVIEW

Small but necessary premise: I know very little about Underworld (zero?), therefore I am not able to provide an adequate description regarding their musical background and their stylistic evolution, if there has been any naturally. Furthermore, I only own this one work, so my opinion regarding the group might appear significantly limited, especially since this isn't exactly the musical genre I am particularly devoted to.

In practice, advice and criticism are widely requested by me because I would like to broaden my musical horizons as much as possible, preferably in a constructive way (I am an eclectic but highly selective type, if you'll allow me the nonsense).

Moving on to the album in question, it is appropriate to clarify that it is the most recent "Underworldian" discographic release, dating back to 2007 (if I'm not wrong, the official release was on October 3).

The Hyde-Smith duo has thus reached their fifth creation, surviving the trends and frenetic rhythms that characterize the music of the new millennium: remarkable on their part, considering that Underworld has long surpassed a decade.

Drawn by advice and excellent reviews about them, I plunged into listening to "Oblivion With Bells", experiencing not little surprise in being able to enjoy elegance and extreme fluidity tied to ethereal atmospheres, ready to flow into "club" soundscapes never excessive or redundant; in fact, one almost has the impression of being immersed in a musical liquid, with percussions and keyboards meant to carry us into new spaces previously closed off (yes, I must thank my personal pusher once again).

However, it is not possible for me to talk about a "journey" (at least not in a continuous sense), as there are tracks that interrupt everything; taken individually they are not even bad (on the contrary, "Ring Road" is very nice, almost seems like an ideal piece for "The Lion King"), but unfortunately do not fit well into the context, at least in my opinion.

"Glam Bucket", however, gave me a totally different impression: the keyboards offer the right pathos to take off (or rather, slide).

Other noteworthy tracks are the opener "Crocodile" which is connected to "Beautiful Burnout", forming a tasty triad with "Holding The Moth", more danceable but at risk of being repetitive (the lyrics though...: "foot in front of the other, like cute, blablah..").

In essence, a good discovery, with the hope of enjoying even more the previous chapters which, from what I’ve heard around, are the best to cling to in the varied world of club music. Au revoir.