As if they didn't have to prove they're still viable as a commercial and artistic outfit,
Underworld's Rick Smith and
Karl Hyde faced an additional challenge for
A Hundred Days Off -- prove to the dance cognoscenti they could withstand the loss of
Darren Emerson, the producer who kick-started the band when he joined in 1992.
Underworld's trademarked sound, however, is mostly a creation of Smith and
Hyde, and present from the opener, "Mo Move," wherein a dizzying cycle of gurgling bass, crepe paper percussion, and sequencers sets off
Hyde's lonely, adrift vocals. The album reaches an early peak on "Two Months Off," with a repeated synthesizer riff playing off a brilliant succession of harmonies and basslines, with a hypnotizing performance by
Hyde over the top. From there, the album heads off into a succession of familiar tracks, either po-mo acid house blues à la
Dubnobasswithmyheadman ("Sola Sistim," "Trim," "Ballet Lane") or minimalist, pinpoint techno ("Dinosaur Adventure 3D," "Luetin"). Surprisingly, counter to expectations after the brash youngster leaves the fold,
A Hundred Days Off doesn't suffer from the oldster syndrome; the production is edgy and up to date as usual. ~ John Bush