If 2002’s A Hundred Days Off proved that Underworld’s Karl Hyde and Rick Smith could scale sonic skyscrapers without former bandmate and DJ Darren Emerson, its follow-up is where they relax — literally. Seven of Oblivion with Bells’ 11 cuts feature beats that lope below cooing guitar and/or keyboards, or are submerged into the muted synth-pulse. Much better are the increasingly rare harder, faster numbers like “Crocodile” and “Beautiful Burnout,” where the duo approach the linear excitement of their earlier work.
More on Underworld on SPIN: Underworld’s Karl Hyde Details ‘Oblivion’
