Overview
Beaucoup Fish was released after the massively successful single "Born Slippy .NUXX"; a single that began to define Underworld's signature sound of stream of consciousness lyrics, anthemic melodies and abrasive beats and rhythms. Lead single "Push Upstairs", with its aggressive piano melody, exemplified this new sound. Much of the album featured experimentation not heard on previous albums: several tracks incorporated samples of dialogue recorded by the band itself, while the progressive aspect of previous albums was mostly slashed in favour of shorter, tighter arrangements.
"King of Snake" features a tape-edited guitar intro titled "Shudder", leading into a lively house track that interpolates the bassline from Donna Summer's disco hit "I Feel Love", before fading into sampled dialogue about the blood sport of snake baiting. "Skym" features little more than a solo keyboard and light piano chords over Karl Hyde's vocals, while "Bruce Lee" has more akin to rock music than trance. Beaucoup Fish also features a downtempo re-imagining of "Push Upstairs", cleverly titled "Push Downstairs"; only the vocal track is kept between the two. "Moaner", a song featured in the film Batman & Robin, is presented on Beaucoup Fish with its final three minutes removed by a fade out.
"Push Upstairs" and second single "Jumbo" were both hits on the dance charts and in clubs. Beaucoup Fish was well-received critically (one review calling it "electronica's The Dark Side of the Moon") and remains Underworld's most successful album, with over one million copies sold.
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