Beaucoup Fish

Out of print in the U.S.! Originally released in 1999, Beaucoup Fish includes the massive hit 'Push Upstairs' and 10 other tracks. Karl Hyde and Rick Smith came together in the early '80s in the Art-Rock/New Wave band Freur, who eventually morphed into Underworld in the latter part of the decade. By the early '90s, the duo had reinvented themselves as a modern Electronic outfit and achieved critical acclaim, worldwide success and became one of the most influential bands in clubland... all before the '90s came to a close. Underworld explored the fringes of Dub, Dance and Techno, creating a seamless, eclectic fusion of various Dance genres. JBO.

The much-anticipated return of Underworld after 1996's landmark recording Second Toughest in the Infants, Beaucoup Fish is infused with subtle, lean rhythms, memorable hooks, and a youthful, sensuous energy. Alternately sinister and sweet, the endless DJ creativity on display is an ecstatic revelation. --Matthew Cooke

A stunning album of smart, dance-pop craft, Beaucoup Fish blends stomping beats and meandering, binary dream worlds into a cohesive and heavenly revelation. It's another work filled with Karl Hyde's singsong talk-vocals ("Push Downstairs") floating over DJ Darren Emerson's sinewy, house-style rave-ups ("King of Snake"), a sound that has distinguished them since 1993's Dubnobasswithmyheadman. On Beaucoup Fish, however, that sound slips around tracks that do more than patiently await the next thick coat of rhythm, building simple songs into a digitized, epic whole. There are eruptions of ecstatic melody on songs such as "Jumbo," while jerky dance tracks such as "Bruce Lee" open whole new avenues for bursting layers of rhythmic ambience. Underworld are doomed to be haunted forever by "Born Slippy" (popularized via the Trainspotting soundtrack), the world's first international rave anthem, yet Beaucoup Fish goes well beyond such timely phenomena, and works instead to free electronic music from its computer-age constraints. --Matthew Cooke