Review Summary: Sonic exploration resumes.
Underworld threw caution to the wind on their massive
Drift 1 Series, which spanned over the course of a year between 2018 and 2019. This led to an epic amount of music that reached out in multiple sonic directions. Of course, the legendary electronic act could not provide stellar output every week, however, quality was prevalent throughout the entire collection. They needed to let it sink in for a number of years, before presenting any new music. That diversity raised the following question: what will be next for them? Then, “denver luna (acapella)” arrived out of nowhere. A gorgeous rendition of the main tune’s latter half verses, it offers a completely different perspective than expected. As “Black Poppies” followed a similar pattern, but with accompanying synthesizers, it was clear Karl Hyde and Rick Smith had no intention to stop exploring new sounds. Thus,
Strawberry Hotel lies at a crossroads between the pumping tracks we are most familiar with and a mellower, cozy side.
As far as the classic Underworld stuff goes, the guys provide the trademark, mesmerizing mix of techno and progressive house that mainly graced their late ‘90s-‘00s LPs and then revisited on
Drift. Tunes such as the powerful, throbbing “and the colour red” or the smooth, retro futuristic grooves of “Techno Shinkansen” share quite different vibes, yet they play brilliantly back to back. Both were definitely composed with the live element in mind. Same for the main “denver luna” cut, which goes as hard as “Cowgirl” instrumental-wise, only Hyde’s vocals turn more tuneful in its second half. As we reach the middle stretch of the record, the songs steer towards melodic territory, with shorter than usual time spans. “Hilo Sky” & “King of Haarlem” toy with warm synths set to immersive house music rhythms, whereas “Burst of Laughter” takes a late night type clubbing path. At 3-4 minutes long, they feel bite sized, kind of like walking through multiple rooms in a huge warehouse full of different parties. Each has its own charm though. There is also “Gene Pool”, which builds up in waves, using ethereal and krautrock inspired beats, gradually giving way to the LP’s chilled out final stretch.
Overall,
Strawberry Hotel manages to create a very dynamic experience, especially by introducing shorter tracks. Only during its latter half it starts meandering, a thing that could have been avoided had a couple of intense numbers been introduced at the right moments. Nevertheless, the album is another successful entry in Underworld’s catalogue, one that seems to be a grower this time around. Like they mentioned, please don’t shuffle.
