Eight albums in, 30 years as a musical partnership – and yet Underworld somehow keep moving with the times, retaining their strong musical identities but adding new layers, new designs and new styles. ‘Barking’ does this especially well by bringing in a whole host of collaborators but not at the expense of the group’s identity. High Contrast guests to thrilling effect on ‘Scribble’, where Karl Hyde can be seen to have improved as a singer as well as a speech merchant, while Dubfire’s offerings are headed by the atmospheric opener ‘Bird 1’, with D. Ramirez and Mark Knight helping the duo scale the heights on a euphoric ‘Always Loved A Film’. ‘Hamburg Hotel’, meanwhile, shows how the Underworld sound can be applied to dubstep to vivid effect. This is the most I’ve enjoyed an Underworld album since 1999’s ‘Beaucoup Fish’, the whole record illustrating how their sound is just as relevant today as it was then. Now someone sign them up for the Olympics!
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
