Underworld Strawberry Hotel
Underworld's Strawberry Hotel opens as a study in dualities - club-ready propulsion and pastoral psychedelia - and critics largely agree it rewards patient, sequenced listening. Across five professional reviews the record earned a 77/100 consensus score, with reviewers pointing to a deliberate architecture that privileges shorter, interlocking pieces over instant hooks. That structure reframes the question of whether Strawberry Hotel is good: reviewers consistently call it a successful grower rather than a collection of immediate singles.
Critics repeatedly highlight “denver luna”, “King of Haarlem” and “Ottavia” among the album's standout tracks. Praise for “denver luna” centers on its muffled climaxes, stream-of-consciousness energy and club heft, while “King of Haarlem” and “Ottavia” exemplify the record's warmer, melodic counterpoint. Reviews from Dusted Magazine and Sputnikmusic emphasize sequenced continuity and the reward of focused listens, The Quietus celebrates melodic synthesis and vocal experimentation, and The Observer spotlights front-loaded, euphoric moments like “Sweet Lands Experience” and opener “Black Poppies”.
While several critics admire the album's textured compositions, krautrock-tinged motifs and reunion of dancefloor craft with surreal urban imagery, a recurring caveat appears: the patchwork ambition occasionally feels unfused, with some tracks trading immediacy for atmosphere. Still, the professional reviews converge on one verdict - Strawberry Hotel stands as a confident, exploratory entry in Underworld's catalogue that rewards repeated, attentive plays. Scroll down for full reviews and a track-by-track look at the record's best songs.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Lewis in Pomona
3 mentions
"slow-burn charms of "Lewis in Pomona""— Dusted Magazine
King of Haarlem
4 mentions
"‘Lewis in Pomona’ and ‘King of Haarlem’ introduce us to two of the distinguished guests"— The Quietus
denver luna
5 mentions
"“The strawberry jam girl!” roars Hyde at the top of ‘Denver Luna’"— The Quietus
slow-burn charms of "Lewis in Pomona"
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Black Poppies
denver luna
Techno Shinkansen
and the colour red
Sweet Lands Experience
Lewis in Pomona
Hilo Sky
Burst of Laughter
King of Haarlem
Ottavia
denver luna - acappella
Gene Pool
Oh Thorn!
Iron Bones
Stick Man Test
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 7 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a characteristically wry and attentive voice the reviewer frames Underworld’s Strawberry Hotel as an album that rewards sequence rather than snippets, pointing especially to the slow-burn charms of “Lewis in Pomona” and the patient build of “Hilo Sky”. The piece reads like a fan who notices small structural pleasures rather than headline hooks, arguing the best tracks are those that reveal themselves across plays. It answers exactly the question of the best songs on Strawberry Hotel by privileging depth over immediacy, recommending focused listens to these quieter standouts.
Key Points
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The best song is best because it unfolds gradually and rewards uninterrupted, sequenced listening.
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The album’s core strength is its emphasis on continuity and textured, patient compositions rather than immediate hooks.
Themes
Critic's Take
In his measured, slightly sardonic tone John Wohlmacher finds the best songs on Strawberry Hotel in the album's split personality: the bruising club visions of “denver luna” and the summery intimacy of “King of Haarlem”. He writes with historical context and literary flourish, mapping Underworld's techno lineage onto moments of pure invention - the muffled climaxes of “denver luna” and the stream-of-consciousness glow of “King of Haarlem” stand out. The review frames these tracks as the record's emotional poles, making them the central best tracks on Strawberry Hotel while acknowledging the record's kaleidoscopic, sometimes unfused ambition.
Key Points
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The best song is “denver luna” for its brutalist club energy and vivid muffled climaxes.
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The album's core strengths are its split halves: energetic, club-focused production and a quieter, ambient storytelling side.
Themes
Critic's Take
Underworld return on Strawberry Hotel with a playful, sometimes baffling patchwork of rooms where the best songs - notably “denver luna” and “Ottavia” - reveal a renewed embrace of melody. Jeremy Allen's voice relishes the band's synthesis of the cinematic and the euphoric, praising voice synthesis and unexpected collaborators while still nodding to their past. The review highlights “denver luna” for its stream-of-consciousness energy and melodic vocal blocks, and “Ottavia” for its tragi-comic Monteverdi recitation, marking them among the best tracks on Strawberry Hotel. The overall tone is celebratory and measured, calling the album a vintage, masterful showing from a band still full of life.
Key Points
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The best song, “denver luna”, stands out for its stream-of-consciousness vocal energy and melodic voice synthesis.
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The album's core strengths are its melodic embrace, varied collaborations, and a theatrical, surrealist patchwork of songs.
Themes
Th
Critic's Take
Underworld return with Strawberry Hotel, an album whose best songs stake claim early: “Techno Shinkansen” and “Sweet Lands Experience” are loose, euphoric club hits that prove the dancefloor still lives in their forebrain. The reviewer's favourite opener, “Black Poppies”, acts as a potent, psych-pastoral hymn to change, while “Burst of Laughter” and “King of Haarlem” reveal a softer, more invitational side. Kitty Empire's tone is admiring and precise, placing the album between raverly bangers and abstract late-track reveries, so readers searching for the best tracks on Strawberry Hotel will find those front-loading delights the most immediately rewarding.
Key Points
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The best song energy is concentrated in front-loaded tracks like "Techno Shinkansen" and "Sweet Lands Experience", which revive Underworld's dancefloor instincts.
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The album's core strengths are a balance of raver-ready bangers and inviting, psych-pastoral abstractions that showcase Hyde's lyricism and Rick Smith's production.
Themes
Critic's Take
Underworld return on Strawberry Hotel as restless explorers, and the best songs - notably “denver luna” and “and the colour red” - crystallize that tension between pumping clubforce and a cozier, melodic side. The reviewer's tone is appreciative and measured, praising how “Techno Shinkansen” and “and the colour red” play brilliantly back to back, and noting the album's habit of favoring shorter, bite-sized tracks that keep momentum. Overall the record is framed as a successful grower, one that rewards repeated listens rather than instant hits. Please don’t shuffle is taken as a direct plea to experience the sequencing as intended.
Key Points
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The best song(s), notably "and the colour red" and "denver luna", balance live-oriented power with tuneful vocals, making them standouts.
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The album's core strengths are sonic exploration, dynamic pacing through shorter tracks, and successful blending of techno energy with mellower, melodic passages.