Beaucoup Fish
by Underworld
  • Record Label: V2
  • Release Date: Mar 1, 1999
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    Wipe away its dusting of frost and you'll encounter mystery, beauty, and alluring rhapsodies, with the warm, pulsating beats serving as the music's heart.
  2. E! Online
    91
    Imagine a dance floor where Steve Reich raves, Talking Heads reunite and disco divas shake their booty with pierced punks.
  3. Magnet
    90
    The first great album of '99. [March 1999]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. MTV.com
    90
    Beaucoup Fish is 74 non-stop minutes-worth of next level disco inferno.
  6. Ink Blot Magazine
    90
    Beaucoup Fish is a steady step above second LP Second Toughest in the Infants, and while it never scales the more spectacular heights of Underworld's debut, this album sounds like a grower.
  7. Armchair DJ
    80
    Beaucoup Fish isn't a huge step forward for Underworld, but it is a refinement of their sound.
  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    The absence of quirky samples and lame big beats make it all sound, right now, strangely radical.
  9. Splendid
    80
    Underworld's music rarely makes dull listening, even at its most linear.
  10. Dot Music
    80
    Furious techno stomps and mellow streamlined electronica clash head on with Karl Hyde's often nonsensical vocal style, pushing the group forward yet sticking close to their original blueprint.
  11. CDNow
    80
    Artistically, Beaucoup Fish lives up to its advance billing, crisscrossing the genres of rock, techno, ambient, disco and jazz to create a rich, multi-leveled listening experience.
  12. Almost Cool
    80
    If you like the group's other work, you'll definitely want to pick this up, even though it may take awhile to grow on you. Just don't expect a revolution.
  13. Village Voice
    80
    A shiny little appliance that fragments its 11 tracks into nearly as many subgenres, doing away with the seamless sprawl of their earlier records.
  14. AllMusic
    80
    And though it is a disappointing record compared to the group's high-flying previous albums, it displays Underworld's talents well.
  15. The A.V. Club
    70
    Like its predecessor, though, Beaucoup Fish is too unfocused to prove consistently potent.
  16. Rolling Stone
    70
    Their specialty is an undulating trance throb that shimmers with shades of rock, contemporary symphonics, dub, disco, house, spoken word, whatever. The result still sounds like Underworld, and the fiftieth play sounds better than the fifth.
  17. Pitchfork
    68
    It shouldn't surprise anyone in today's age of shattered expectations that Beaucoup Fish is not as great as we'd hoped.
  18. Austin Chronicle
    67
    It all sounds like something you've heard before, but done better, faster, slicker.
  19. Q Magazine
    60
    Midway through, however, Karl Hyde stretches himself too far with the minimal This Mortal Coil-styled ballad SKYM, exposing the weaknesses in his singing voice.
  20. Launch.com
    60
    Few other contemporary electronic acts are quite so savvy in their subtle manipulation of traditional song elements within a cybernetic context.
  21. Sonicnet
    50
    Unfortunately, the obtrusive vocals mess up the vibe like an unwelcome party crasher. Underworld's experiments with electronica, vocals and rock are dismal failures.

Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best Album of 1999
10
#10 Most Discussed Album of 1999
10
#10 Most Shared Album of 1999

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. DanMetacritic94
    Jan 15, 2012
    9
    Underworld had really made a name for themselves after two critically acclaimed albums Dubnobasswithmyheadman and Second Toughest in theUnderworld had really made a name for themselves after two critically acclaimed albums Dubnobasswithmyheadman and Second Toughest in the Infants and they had continued the trend with their third album Beaucoup Fish.

    This was the last studio album to feature Darren Emerson before he left the group to pursue a solo career, but he made sure that he was going out with a bang on this album.

    I described Dubnobasswithmyheadman as a fun pop record and Second Toughest in the Infants as an emotionally driving record. I like to describe Beaucoup Fish as a head-banging record.

    You just canâ    … Full Review »
  2. Joris
    Oct 9, 2007
    10
    Underworld's best by far, yes I own Dubnobasswithmyheadman... this was a big step forward with incredible melodies and shapeshifting Underworld's best by far, yes I own Dubnobasswithmyheadman... this was a big step forward with incredible melodies and shapeshifting creations. Favourites are Cups (amazing transgression), King of Snakes, Something Like a Mama and Jumbo. Except for Bruce Lee this is a winner.… Full Review »
  3. JenB
    Aug 21, 2007
    10
    Like a good wine, gets better and better. It's a masterpiece of electronic music and house beats.
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