Underworld's fifth studio album (and second without DJ/producer Darren Emerson) doesn't have the moments of apocalyptic electro-bombast that won the band its legions without the benefit of a high-charting hit. The beauty here—and there is plenty—is of the muted kind: a rare sustained note for beatnik frontman Karl Hyde on the chorus of "Crocodile," the low-toned synth swelling over congas and strings on "Beautiful Burnout," the Tori Amos tinkle of untreated piano keys on "Good Morning Cockerel." This is the Underworld that scored two films last year, not the one that made chanting "lager, lager" a declaration of defiant slacker-dom on the "Trainspotting" soundtrack. If this is the band's version of maturation, we'll take it. "Oblivion" simmers without boiling, and the tension is intoxicating. —Kerri Mason