''Second Toughest in the Infants'' is the fourth studio album by British

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

group

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwo ...

, and the second in their "

MK2 MK or mk may refer to: In arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Moon Knight, a Marvel Comics superhero * M.K., an '' ''Into the Badlands'' (TV series) character * Mary Katherine "M.K." Bomba, the protagonist in ''Epic'' (2013 fil ...

" line-up with

Darren Emerson Darren Paul Emerson (born 30 April 1971) is an English musician, DJ and producer best known as a former member of the British electronic music group Underworld. Career Early life Emerson began mixing hip hop records at the age of 14, and by ...

. With this album, Underworld expanded on their progressive palette, while developing their signature sound of abrasive beats and anthemic melodies. The 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 An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...

(the level of schooling attended by four- to seven-year-old children in the United Kingdom). ''Second Toughest'' featured the single "

Pearl's Girl "Pearl's Girl" is the title of several 1996 single releases and a song by Underworld, from their album '' Second Toughest in the Infants''; where the song is titled "Pearls Girl". The single peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 22. The song t ...

". The re-issue featured the band's best known single, "

Born Slippy .NUXX "Born Slippy .NUXX" is a song by British electronic music group Underworld. It was first released as the B-side to "Born Slippy", in May 1995. The fragmented lyrics, by vocalist Karl Hyde, describe the perspective of an alcoholic. After it w ...

". The album was remastered and re-released on 20 November 2015 with deluxe and super-deluxe expanded editions.

Overview

The album opens with the multi-song suite " Juanita : Kiteless : To Dream of Love", which features all three parts intersecting each other at various points during the piece; hence, the use of colons instead of slashes in its name. The loungy,

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

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 An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and light, melancholic arrangements, respectively. "Pearl's Girl" is one of the few Underworld songs to use

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and U ...

s. Due to the success of the single "

", ''Second Toughest'' was re-issued with a bonus disc containing the single-only tracks "Born Slippy .NUXX" and "Rez"; Japanese editions also featured "Cherry Pie" and the "(Carp Dreams... Koi)" mix of "Pearl's Girl". The song titles "Sappy's Curry", "Pearl's Girl" and "Born Slippy" all come from the names of greyhounds from an English racing stadium. These greyhounds finished third, second, and first during Underworld's visit to the races.

Critical reception

Like their previous effort ''

Dubnobasswithmyheadman ''Dubnobasswithmyheadman'' (stylised as ''dubnobasswithmyheadman'') is the third studio album by British electronic music group Underworld, released in the United Kingdom on Junior Boy's Own on 24 January 1994. It was the first Underworld album ...

'', ''Second Toughest in the Infants'' received critical acclaim. Anya Sacharow of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' described the album as "no dumb-bass dance music", adding that Underworld "know how to expand the frenzy of

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

and

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

and then retreat to an ambient cool". ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' called Underworld "modest/cynical/smart enough to borrow jungle's finest trademarks", while '' NME'' praised them as "smooth of touch, sleek of footing and downright slippery of rhythm" and concluded that they "breezily persevere in their quest for Western groove domination."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

said that ''Second Toughest in the Infants'' "carries the same knockout punch of their debut, ''Dubnobasswithmyheadman'', but it's subtler and more varied, offering proof that the outfit is one of the leading dance collectives of the mid-'90s." ''Melody Maker'' named ''Second Toughest in the Infants'' the fifth best album of 1996, and the album was also ranked at number 37 in ''NMEs 1996 critics' poll. In 2006, the album was ranked at number 96 on ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

''s list of "Modern Classics", with an accompanying write-up stating: "Everything with Underworld is in the detail – never has the introduction of a hi-hat seemed quite so exciting." The album is featured in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Paul Simpson said that "''Second Toughest in the Infants'' endures as a landmark album, spotlighting Underworld at their creative peak, and remaining an important document of an era when experimental, cerebral electronic dance music received significant mainstream attention."

2015 reissue

In 2015, the album was reissued on vinyl and 2-CD and 4-CD expanded editions. Highlighting alternate mixes, remixes and unreleased songs, the 4-CD version includes a full CD of variations of "

", from one of the song's earliest versions in 1994, up until its final form a year later (which is included here in its 1996 extended form).

Track listing

20th anniversary 4-CD super deluxe edition

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Toughest In The Infants 1996 albums Underworld (band) albums