Beaucoup Fish

After the massive success of the “Pearl’s Girl” and “Born Slippy .NUXX” singles, anticipation was high for Underworld’s next album, and they responded with something of a left turn. While “Push Upstairs” was a typical Underworld anthem — big and handwavey, with fragmentary lyrics muttered by Karl Hyde — “Shudder/King Of Snake” was like a tribute to Giorgio Moroder’s sequencer-fueled disco tracks, “Bruce Lee” was imitation Beck with a sampled guitar chop and half-rapped vocals, and “Push Downstairs” took the vocal track from “Push Upstairs” and laid it over drifting ambient synths. At 74 minutes, it feels like they tried out every idea they had, and somewhat miraculously, almost all of them work.