Album Review

Underworld – Bird 1

• 19th Nov 2010

Despite the artwork leading me to think that I’d been sent a copy of i-Life 11 (must be a designer trope at the moment), I did actually have the radio edit of Bird 1. Whilst I’d always be keen to hear the mixes, that’s probably undue in this instance as this single has an ethereal and reflective air that expands beyond the short 3:36 available to it.

That’s not to imply the converse either; it doesn’t drag – far from it. Carl Hyde’s haiku-like lyrics complement the deceptively sparse palette of sounds and wide stereo production to give a contentedly floaty and expansive air to this latest single from Underworld’s Barking album.

Even with a reference to Mama Cass and an opening vocal that could take its place in an identity parade alongside Marc Bolan’s Ride a White Swan, this resolutely isn’t a hippy-dippy affair. Neither is it exactly minimal – deceptively and pleasingly simple would be the watch words here.

The backbone of Bird 1 is a wide, stringy bass line and a whip-crack, synth kick which moves all elements forward quite politely, thank you. You can look out of the window on this journey but we’re not stopping until we get there.

Despite the delightfully mad, non sequitur lyrics, and the woolly keyboard lines, the refrain manages to be oddly catchy. Which just goes to show that Underworld know you don’t have to go route one all the time to score a winner. A fact underlined for me recently by the unexpected use of the previous single Always Loved a Film, as a sound bed to ITV’s F.A. Cup coverage.