Barbara Barbara dirty reviews - Page 5

potatobroth · #41 03-16-2016, 06:33 AM

i already pre-ordered the US one. ugh.

ultradave · #42 03-16-2016, 08:27 PM

...so i placed twenty three blue after santiago and like many here, i will also say it fits in perfectly here. This LP is growing on me greatly. I've listened to it in it's entirety at my desk, in my car, in tiny wires in my ears and it's just filled with so many elements. No, it's not a dance LP. No, there are no major Techno anthems here. No, there are no 11 minute tracks to take you a on journey through Trance. But it's filled with substance.

After several listens, I feel alot of AHDO in this LP. It's kind of like what AHDO should have been. The good thing is, you can take the best of that era and mix it in perfectly with BB.

Yes, Underworld, you do face a shining future...

Job well done mates. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing you on stage here in California!

Yannick · #43 03-16-2016, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty0900

I'd ignore Yannick. He's a cunt who likes telling lies to people.

... have a drink mate. no need to be vicious here. I like to tease yes...

BrotherLovesDub · #44 03-16-2016, 09:26 PM

twenty three blue has lyrics from king of snake right? 2:24

blue come wrap around us
come on take me home

holden · #45 03-18-2016, 01:50 PM

As is my custom, I waited until release day to listen to the album in whole. Granted, with five tracks being played live at BBC6, plus the two samplers and “I Exhale” single release, it wasn’t as anticipatory as previous albums’ first spins. Mostly, I just enjoy hearing a mastered version rather than a rip, having the physical product, and being surprised by the layers and differences from live versions. Anyway, a couple full plays in, my thoughts:

“I Exhale”: (7/10) Big, brash opener. It’s grown on me a lot since the single release. I wish there were more variety than the two-note bass and fairly static drumbeat. But the extra beats at 3:04, again at 5:07 and the many, many layers of squiggly sounds and voices make for nice headphone listening and hold my interest.

“If Rah”: (9/10) From the sampler, I thought this would be a mess. But it has one of UW’s better buildups, in my opinion. Here, a static electro bass and tinny beat don’t interfere with Karl’s lyrics (the sentiments I really enjoy). Then as the guitar and eventually the big synth melody enter, the chorus ~4” and the break 4:30 building back to euphoria layer by layer, this becomes a classic for me.

“Low Burn”: (10/10). Beautiful opening strings, somewhat menacing oscillating bassline, ping-pong blip, urgent piano and oh those pounding drums! Gorgeous vocals, simple but delivered directly from and to the soul. This track feels like it could have fit nicely on any release from Beaucoup onwards.

“Santiago Quattro”: (5/10) Like “Ess Gee” or “Blueski”, this could be considered the “guitar filler track”. It starts out promising with the drone, radio crackle and semi-mysterious pattern, but about two minutes in, Karl seemed out of ideas. I realize that this (and most of Karl’s guitar playing, in my opinion) is about feeling rather than song structure. It’s not bad, just overly long for what it accomplishes in half the time. I’d probably like it better if a beat dropped in. In fact…

“Motorhome”: (6.5/10) In same key as “Santiago”, they could have mixed “Motorhome” directly, as was the case in the second album sampler. I kind of like the hypnotic or meditative nature of this. Again, happy headphone listening to pick out the sounds. Folks have mentioned this sounding like the Chemical Brothers; agree, the horn reminds me of “Private Psychedelic Reel” and “Sunshine Underground” or some B-side from “Surrender”. The electric bass ~4:30 and piano are way up in the mix for a few bars, but succeed in transforming the track into something more joyous. Probably will take a few more spins to fully appreciate.

“Ova Nova”: (9/10) Great rolling bassline, subtle guitar, swinging beat. I love that organ that takes over! Karl’s voice and the background vocals are really strong here. Another lovely buildup, breakdown, repeat. “Connecting nations; everybody everybody change your mind!”… This feels like child of Rez/Cowgirl to me. Wish it would go on longer.

“Nylon Strung”: (10/10). Ok, I’m adult enough to admit this one moves me to tears. Stunning vocals by Esme Smith, and presumably Tyler Hyde and Rick are in the chorus as well, which just makes the sentiment “Open Me Up, I Want to Hold You Laughing/ Carry Me” so powerful. The Pitchfork review was spot on here, the track makes me think of my family and loved ones. Bittersweet, life- affirming, joyful, hopeful, etc. The perfect album closer.

“Twenty Three Blue”: (8/10) Too bad the Japanese version tacks this on at the end, ruining the mood of “Nylon Strung”. Since I’d prefer Santiago to be merged with Motorhome, and the back half of the album is so uplifting, I might try putting this after If Rah. Anyway, nice guitar riffs and dive-bomb synth bass, dark vocals to decipher. “Do you feel the cold of winter?” Yes, I feel it in this track. Why was it left off? Too typically UW? Too dark compared with the rest of the record?

Overall: 8/10. Really strong with the exception of "Santiago" and portions of "Motorhome". If “I Exhale” were shorter, “23 Blue” added, and maybe a few tracks stretched out longer, this would be amazing. But I’m liking it more than OWB and Barking, for sure.

dubman · #46 03-18-2016, 02:37 PM

i agree with pretty much all of that at this point except i rather like santiago (don't put a beat to that please) and i'm still not fully onto Nylon even though it's grown.

TheBang · #47 03-18-2016, 11:50 PM

Miki's written the "official" Born Dirty review:

https://www.borndirty.org/news/under...hining-future/

botkiller · #48 03-19-2016, 07:46 PM

I like it, but it lacks a few things:

1. No sing along worthy track. Barking had always loved a film, OWB had "Crocodile" and "beautiful burnout", this album lacks a song I want to sing along with. Karl's vocals are buried in a lot of reverb. I do enjoy the bits where he comes thru a bit more, a la the vocal change in Bruce Lee wherein his vox go from effect laden to dry as hell.

2. First 4 tracks are really tight, even with a little bit of that original sound, but it sort of falls off at track 5 and the train slows down a lot. I'm ok with this most of the time, but I felt a little tossed off the tracks after Santiago Cuatro.

3. I would be happy if the whole album were more like "low burn". It has that deep groove that I just sort of roll around in.

4. It's not very long. 45 mins? I mean, that's ok, I don't need 10 minute bangers all the time, but I'm missing some of that really bearing into the groove feel. I know, I know, Juanita/Kiteless won't happen again, and I know that, but, I still like it when I really have time to settle into the groove.

Overall, I like it, not my top album, certainly one I'll enjoy from time to time. I think of the material in post-Emerson days, I still prefer 100 days off and OWB. There was something very sad about "Barking". I was driving to Arizona once listening to that album, and I sort of wanted to cry through most of it. Scribble sort of makes me feel like I'm being punched in the bridge of the nose by something very sad. Am I the only one that hears this? I guess it's always sort of been there in UW's material, I mean, even Dirty Epic was a sad song in its own way, Born Slippy always was a little sad besides being a banger. I guess there's always been a bit of melancholy in UW's material, maybe I just pick up on it more in my later years.

That's the power of UW's music, really, and one of the major reasons that I've always loved it. I also lost a good friend of mine who really got me further into UW in the early 00s to suicide two years ago, so now listening to their music sometimes has that tinge of downness that I can't describe. That's just me.

Please keep in mind that I've been listening to UW since the mid-90s when I was just a teen, so yes, I'm probably always going to be stuck, like a needle in the record groove, on some of those things that I always really reveled in with their sound.

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent, here. I'm always grateful when the boys release something new, so I'm certainly not ungrateful for this album. I just sometimes want that straight 909 kick with the energy of the earlier material. That's why I can go back through all of it, I guess. I do prefer to hear artists progress and grow in their sound, instead of doing the same thing over and over again. I've always been in awe of UW's ability to simply keep creating.

Thank you for making more art, Karl and Rick, and as always, please keep doing it, we're all glad that you do.

botkiller · #49 03-19-2016, 07:47 PM

I'm also listening to 23 blue now and this song, I'm all about. I would be happy with a lot more of this.

botkiller · #50 03-19-2016, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultradave

...so i placed twenty three blue after santiago and like many here, i will also say it fits in perfectly here. This LP is growing on me greatly. I've listened to it in it's entirety at my desk, in my car, in tiny wires in my ears and it's just filled with so many elements. No, it's not a dance LP. No, there are no major Techno anthems here. No, there are no 11 minute tracks to take you a on journey through Trance. But it's filled with substance.

After several listens, I feel alot of AHDO in this LP. It's kind of like what AHDO should have been. The good thing is, you can take the best of that era and mix it in perfectly with BB.

Yes, Underworld, you do face a shining future...

Job well done mates. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing you on stage here in California!

I agree with this. It has a good bit of AHDO in it.