[holden]

Nice one, Dunwho!

Well, it does seem like Karl is streamlining his vocals. And some of Rick's synths do sound a bit 80's-ish. But i don't consider these new tracks or the live ones to be a huge throwback to Freur or UW mk i. Those incarnations were strictly pop. synth-pop of funk-pop or whathaveyou, but the lyrics were designed for the masses and the instrumentation clearly of the time. Yes, these latest underworld tracks do have elements of the past, but they're not stale; in fact, they're like UW reinventing or reacclaiming themselves as electronic, after increasing forays into ambient or live jamming.

of course, once we hear the new album in full, we can make a concerted decision on what they're up to!

Ok, an hour or so ago, i was pretty grossed out by "Good Day Today", but it's quickly revealing itself to me.
Though by no means a direct comparison, tthere have always been album cuts that on first blush the fans were like, "What the heck?" Think "Ess Gee" and "Bruce Lee" and "Trim". Yeah, they're a bit unexpected and maybe not fan favorites, but i like that UW is not afraid to stretch beyond the epic electronic that they're known for. Whereas some of their contemporaries (err, Chemical Brothers, Moby, Prodigy, to an extent Hybrid, although their latest LP is stunning, Leftfield, even Fluke) played it formulaic, with the exception of a few cuts on AHDO, Underworld have not repeated themselves. I think the new record will be a revelation.