Description of "Second Toughest in the Infants":

"Juanita: Kiteless/To Dream of Love" is a near seventeen minute trip everything that you would ever want to experience from 'techno' music. A perfect opener.

"Banstyle/Sappy's Curry" is a superb piece of drum and bass. The changes in the upbeat, yet subliminal, melody are so subtle, that because of the trance that you're in, you won't notice. 15+ minutes of techno excellence.

Although "Confusion the Waitress" is my least favorite song on the album, it is still very good. There is a nice, steady bassline that follows Hyde's lyrics of "She said..." throughout for six or seven minutes. It isn't all that bad, but I lose interest after about four minutes and I change it. Worth a listen, though.

"Rowla" is one of my favorite songs on the album. It begins as a simple series of electronic noises that sound "eighties-ish." From this beat, it builds like crazy into a trance-like song that will get you moving... you can't hold back. Hands down, this is one of Underworld's all-time best songs.

"Pearls Girl" is my other favorite. Many people have already heard. It starts as a nice blend of atmospheric sounds and after about a minute, a heart-pounding beat emerges and soon after Hyde will sing beautiful nonsense about 'water' and 'Morocco'. It totals about ten minutes and through that amount of time - you never get bored. It's great, really great.

"Air Towel" is really cool as well. A nice catchy electronic melody resonates throughout for eight minutes. Hyde sings again about beautiful nothingness. Another excellent piece of music.

"Blueski" isn't even three minutes long and it basically consists of layering guitar loops and some people might get bored with it - but I really like it. It's short and sweet. I couldn't listen to it for six minutes or more in a row - but it's pretty good.

"Stagger" is excellent. It's slower and you can't really dance to it - but Hyde sings about mothingness and you can't turn it off. Eventually, the drums will kick in and these beautiful noises will come into the picture and you will be blown away. A nearly perfect closing to a nearly perfect album.

I hope that this review has helped you to decide whether this sounds like the album for you. Even if it isn't - it IS Underworld's best album and it will satisfy you.

Grade: A

Odd how this record, sandwiched between their critically lauded but flawed debut dubnobasswithmyheadman and club explosive Beaucoup Fish, gets so little mention.
Second Toughest trades their zest for pounding anthems with sleek techno rhythms, a perpetual throb coursing throughout the hour; in doing so all their rave-rock elements, too primitive in Dub, too over-baked in Beaucoup, maintain a balance which forms their masterpiece.

They're far more than a straight techno band, of course, drawing in guitars for crucial accentuation while layering long, luxuriant piano melodies (first explored on Dubno but gelling properly here) as exemplified by sixteen minute opener montage "Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love." Front man Karl Hyde's poetic ramblings are present but more focused - surprisingly poignant in moments - perhaps due to the generally melancholy mood that prevails throughout. "Banstyle/Sappys Curry," with acoustic guitar sitting beside long interrupted synth lines, is nothing shot of a revelation in fusing these elements into dance balladry.

Headrush moments are naturally expected from a gang responsible for "Cowgirl" "Born Slippy" and "Push Upstairs." Hence "Rowla" springs up in the middle, furiously twisting fried out synth stabs over and through the rabbit hole. And then there's that monstrous centerpiece "Pearl's Girl," powered by stuttered high speed drums building to Hyde's growling stream of consciousness listings, a chorus of "crazy crazy crazy" running through the peak. Call it example 1A of how to craft an electronic opus.

Beatless "Blueski," a deceptively simple guitar interlude, ultimately leads to the only disappointment of Second Toughest in the Infants. "Stagger," pushing obtuse lyrics upfront in the mix, babbles about Kentucky Fried Chicken and "random features," an uneasy fit to downtempo backing.

With A Hundred Days Off their newest release, and sans DJ Darren Emerson, the Underworld sound is sure to evolve once again. In the rush to glamorize the new, let's hope some deserved recognition shines upon this 1996 tour de force, still fresh and exhilarating today.

Since Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Underworld picked up jungle, breakbeats and Kraut rock in their melange of styles. And when they incorporate jungle into "Barnstyle" and "Pearl's Girl", Underworld makes you rethink the whole d'n'b genre.

But, that's besides the point. A more chilled-out effort and rhythmic record than Dubnobasswithmyheadman, Second Toughest in the Infants significantly tightens their pop composition ideas and infuses amazing, new emotional range into techno.

In fact, on this record, Underworld has made a very, very powerful argument for techno being the new pop music. Granted, many acts (Moby, Orbital, FSOL) have learned to infuse powerful emotion, other acts (Prodigy, Chemical Bros) showed that, yes, techno can rock. But, I really don't believe any dance act has done a better album about loneliness and the need for love and communication as Underworld. Funneled through a druggy sensibility, the dreamy soundscapes and lyrics evoke that painful desire to communicate and connect while in altered states. Elusive yet moving, it also suggests that we are the same in the "real world", and as you are shaking your hips to the beats, it also puts you into thoughts.

Couple that with some of the most inspired guitar sounds I've heard in years, Second Toughest of the Infants really is an essential a rumination on post-urban blues as stuff from Massive Attack or Tricky.

For me, when reviewing Underworld is extremely hard to stay objective. They're music has struck a cord with me, and it always will. But I think you all will agree with me that Underworld has transformed the way we see "dance" music. So let's start. Here I am listening to the last Underworld full-length album to be released on TVT/Wax Trax records 2nd Toughest in the Infants. A brilliant and blissful album that has you entangled from the first touch of sound. "Juanita: Kiteless / To Dream Of Love" opens the album, plunging us into the dark, soothing sea that is Underworld. For 17 + minutes we are subjected to raw syncopated rhythms, cool 303 & Juno lines, and Karl's soft melodic voice and guitar. 13 minutes into it, the whole experience breaks down into a full vocal and piano section which sends us deeper into the sea and lets us up for air a little while later. At the end of the experience, the vibe goes more ambient as we listen to Karl recite different colors.

"Banstyle/Sappys Curry" mixes jungle and techno, Underworld style. Quirky synth effects and ambient pads fill the air with a calm, mild feeling. And to top it off, at about 2 minutes Karl comes in with his vocals. Things pretty much stay the same, until 6 minuets into it when Karl's guitar kicks in and changes everything around into a track that could have been off the "dubnobass..." album. Near the end of this 15-minute classic, things get real interesting. It all seems to come together almost, The synth kicks back in with a wild appregato and restores the track to what it was 15 minutes earlier. "Confusion the Waitress" Is ambient and almost trip hop (if it just didn't have that hard bass drum count). Karl's vocals dominate the track with a 6 minute "she said" lyric. There is not too much more to say, really. This is a track that you really have to listen close to understand. "Rowla" or as some of you might call it, "Cherry Pie" (from the Pearls Girl EP. Slightly different, but basically the same song). This track is one of the better of the high energy techno songs such as "Tin There" and "Moaner". This one eats away at your brain with its acidy synth lines and simple drums. Destined to make you groove, there is not point resisting this track. "Pearls Girl" is a track that took me awhile to get into. The ambient build is killer, but when it breaks I wasn't expecting that beat. It kinda threw me a little. But, after a few minutes or so I really got into its weird jungle sounds and almost industrial technique. Again, Karl's lyrics are the perfect touch, blending smoothly between the raw energy and mystical spirit. A great track, but not my favorite of the Underworld singles. "Air Towel" is next on the list, a more up beat melodic piece. Karl opens his mouth once again and lets his sweet nothings escape over different syncopated noises and sounds. This track has a mild minimalist sound to it, reminiscent of Westbam or Uberzone. "Blueski" is one of my favorite Underworld tracks. Mostly its an interlude, consisting of different guitar riffs layered over and over each other, some samples are two beats off time and they add a real dimension to the barely 3 minute track. If Underworld were to expand this track, add a little more to it, maybe a lyric I think it would make a great full length tune. But it is still wonderful "as is". "Stagger" raps up the album, with 7 minutes of pure Karl Hyde. Ambient piano, Karl's voice, and a mild drum make for a truly mellow and intoxicating voyage. Everything comes together when the drums pick up around 3 and a half minutes. This track would be on my best of Underworld compilation, and it makes a great ending to this album. After everything is said and done, Underworld has pioneered a new style of techno that no one will ever be able to duplicate. Its pure musicianship alone sets it apart from the others, along with its incorporation of acoustic guitars and stream-of-conciseness lyrics. Karl once said that he wants the lyrics to be more of an instrument in the music, not the main part of it like in classic rock or club music. I believe he's done a great job, and so have Darren and Rick. Some people will debate over which Underworld album is the best, and the answer to it is that none of them are better than the others. They are all a part of what is underworld. Enough Said.

I origionally bought this album when few had heard of it based on a small mention in a paragraph by a reviewer who said it was an overlooked album of that year & it was really great, blah, blah,blah. In the mood for something different, I took a chance.

Based on the first track, the multiphase, morphing cycle "Juanita" alone, this album is worth it, but you also get the otherwordly (Underworldly?) track "Pearl's Girl" and the rest.

This album achieves a fusion of dance, trance, progressive & the ENTIRE time remains strangely, alienly beautiful. It also pulls off the feat of being hypnotic AND energetic at the same time. Most electronic albums seem to be specific to a particular activity or area, i.e. the dance floor, come down/chill out, headphone album. This one manages to be ALL OF THOSE and more.

Underworld's best. Period.