Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants (1996)

“Second Toughest in the Infants” is the fourth album by Underworld, and the second in their "MK2" line-up with Darren Emerson. With this album, Underworld expanded on their progressive palette, while developing their signature sound of abrasive beats and anthemic melodies. The album opens with Underworld's third longest track to date; the multi-song suite "Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love", which features all three parts intersecting each other at various points during the piece. The loungy, drum and bass track "Banstyle" follows, alongside its downtempo, half-speed counterpart "Sappy's Curry". The rest of the record showcases advancements in the Underworld sound: both "Rowla" and "Pearl's Girl" feature club-ready abrasive beats and basslines, while "Blueski" and "Stagger" incorporate live acoustic guitar and light, melancholic arrangements, respectively. "Pearl's Girl" is one of the few Underworld songs to use breakbeats.
The album as a whole is very solid with all songs being strong on their own, and as a part of the whole. The unusual name of the album derives from a comment made by member Rick Smith's six-year-old nephew, Simon Prosser, when asked on his progress at infant school, the level of schooling attended by four- to seven-year-old children in the United Kingdom.


01. "Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream of Love"  - 16:36
02. "Banstyle / Sappy's Curry"  - 15:22
03. "Confusion the Waitress"  - 6:47
04. "Rowla"  - 6:31
05. "Pearl's Girl"  - 9:36
06. "Air Towel"  - 7:37
07. "Blueski"  - 2:55
08. "Stagger"  - 7:37

Credits
Rick Smith
Darren Emerson
Karl Hyde
Producer – Underworld
Engineer – Rick Smith
Management – Jukes Productions
Mastered By – Dave Turner, George Lambert
Mastered At – Tape To Tape
Published By – Warner/Chappell
Manufactured By – TVT Records
Distributed By – TVT Records
Artwork [Art] – Tomato

Notes
All songs by Darren Emerson, Karl Hyde, and Rick Smith.
Recorded 1995, Lemonworld Studios, London
Genre - Electronic, Techno, Progressive House
Duration Time - 73:01
Produced at Lemonworld.
All songs © 1996 Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
© 1996 Label Junior Boy's / Own Wax Trax! Records, Inc.