Electronic dance music has helped define the late '90s music landscape, but it still hasn't produced its genre-defining album, its Nevermind. Underworld's terrific 1994 release Dubnobasswithmyheadman could have been that album, but it took until the group's contribution to the Trainspotting soundtrack, "Born Slippy," and the subsequent Second Toughest In The Infants before America started paying attention. If there's anyone left who's still not paying attention, Beaucoup Fish is bound to change that. It has everything a good crossover effort needs: It's filled with pounding breakbeats and propulsive melodies, but wrapped up in rock-influenced songcraft. The album's 12-minute opening track "Cups" may turn out to be techno's "Stairway To Heaven," building steadily from bedroomy contemplation into a driving, trancey climax. Beaucoup Fish isn't as consciously hip-hop-inspired as some of the records by Underworld's big-beat compadres; instead, it draws more on ambient, trance, and yes, mid-'80s synth-pop. It's been a long, strange trip from "Blue Monday" to here, but Beaucoup Fish includes tastes of nearly everything that's happened along the way, leaving us with an album that's minimal without being barren and cutting-edge without being arcane. The techno aesthetic will probably go on being dominated by singles and the live DJ experience, but Beaucoup Fish may well be remembered as one of its finest albums.
CMJ New Music Monthly
Truth be told, Underworld's popularity in America would be less widespread were it not for the band's appearance on the Trainspotting soundtrack. But that's not a knock on the band, really. It's just that this exalted U.K. trio has never tailored its material for mass consumption. Beaucoup Fish, like the group's past work, is an intellectual mish-mash of dense textures, complex frequencies and the monotone mutterings of a frontman who vocalizes his thoughts with complete disregard for traditional song structure. But it's this unique approach to songwriting and production that has made Underworld such a dance culture monolith. Forgoing the breakbeat rhythms that riddled 1996's Second Toughest In The Infants, Beaucoup Fish showcases a more mature, album-oriented Underworld, travelling from over-the-top club maelstroms to ominous, gothic ballads to choppy, experimental rap. The sheer length of the tracks (most hover around seven minutes) makes Beaucoup Fish one of the most non-radio-friendly albums you'll pick up, but its bewitching rock/rave qualities suggests it will still be one of the most played.