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Underground 66
I met Chris through my job at the bank. As happens a lot in my life, we quickly discovered that we have a mutual interest in music, which he takes one step further by being in this band, Underground 66. Then I left the bank and hadn’t seen him for a while, until I ran into him, by chance, at the gym. And he gave me a copy of their CD. I promised to spin it right away and review it for these pages. And… well, the timing couldn’t have been worse. He’d given me the CD right before we sold our house and moved into a new one. As you all know, that involves a lot of packing and lawyers and hassle. Sadly, his CD went into a box and of necessity my attention went elsewhere for too long.
But here I am now, rocking this CD again (turned way up in the good headphones) and I have to say, without reservation: this is the CD I’ve been needing to hear for quite a long time. It’s so great! This is intelligent, intricate rock/metal that satisfies at every track. There are instrumental bits in these songs that are just incredible. The battery of bass and drums is massive, and the guitar carries the top end with panache. This band smokes! The lyrics have something to say, and are presented in a way that just totally suits the music. The production’s excellent too, the sound is big and heavy, no complaints there at all. This one’s a total winner.
You may have read that paragraph and be thinking I’m just saying that ‘cos I got the CD from one of the guys in the band. No! It’s really that good! It’s slinky, and it hits hard. You may be wondering what they actually sound like, and as I listened through it again just now I can hear some influences, or just bands that come to mind when I heard a bit here or there. But how fair is it to drop names of others bands, no matter how complimentary it may be to this group? They are their own animal, and it’s a beast built to rawk. I respect that much more than trying to unfairly compare parts of what they do to anyone else. I hope they agree. I’ve included their Myspace page’s link here and at the bottom of this blurb. Go hear it for yourself!
Two thumbs up! If I had a rating system, this would easily be a 5/5, no question.
Underground 66. GET YOU SOME!!
Track Listing:
The Simple Guy
Eyes In My Brain
James Dean
Roll A Smoke
Bowery’s Lament
Solace
You’re A Lush (But We Love You)
Don’t You Want To Be A Star
Portrait Of A Lady
Been Sick
*On tonight’s spin-through, if forced to choose, my fave tracks were Bowery’s Lament and Portrait Of A Lady. Ask me tomorrow, that will change. I like all these tracks.
