Underworld are back and will release Strawberry Hotel, their first album in five years, on October 25 via Smith Hyde Productions. The 15-track double-LP set includes recent singles “And The Colour Red” and “Denver Luna,” and the new single from the album is “Black Poppies.”
Here’s what Karl Hyde and Rick Smith say about it: “Here, gleaming tensile techno forms clean, straight lines while scratchy acoustic guitars scuff up edges to produce ghostly audio. Poetry is snatched from the overhead, removed from the overheard; words borrowed from the ether are spun into dizzying new shapes, sometimes reappearing in new settings, twisted back to front, side to side. Each track a very different room – some soundtracked by little more than metronomic kick drum and robotic voice, others deep in layer upon layer of melody and euphoric noise – and each room unmistakably, uniquely Underworld. The only advice from Underworld’s Rick Smith and Karl Hyde upon entering: ‘Please don’t shuffle.'”
“Black Poppies” is a little different than what you might be expecting from the duo who gave us “Born Slippy” and “Jumbo.” It’s ethereal and basically harmony vocals and airy synths. Lovely stuff and you can listen to the studio version and watch an “unplugged” version with a string ensemble below.
Strawberry Hotel:
Black Poppies
denver luna
Techno Shinkansen
and the colour red
Sweet Lands Experience
Lewis In Pomona
Hilo Sky
Burst Of Laughter
King Of Haarlem
Ottavia
denver luna (acapella)
Gene Pool
Oh Thorn!
Iron Bones
Stick Man Test