Tonight Alive is a pop rock band from
Sydney Australia and just released their fourth full length
"Underworld" a few weeks ago (January 12th) on Hopeless
Records.
I
have always been attracted to a more generic pop sound than I care to admit;
when bands blend that music with some heavier elements and a very melodic
singing approach, I tend to be what you would call "sold". Tonight
Alive is another band that fits the above category perfectly and one that has
completely slipped off my musical radar. I really enjoy being pleasantly surprised with a record like
"Underworld" and the connection was immediate. "Book of
Love" is a great opener; it set the tone for what was to follow and gave
me something to look forward to in completing the initial listen. Next up is
"Burning On"; probably my favorite track on the record. Ever had the
thought that the second song is always the best song on any given record? It
might be a bit arbitrary, but that happens a lot for me and this song is the
perfect example of a steady build up to a catchy chorus, a nice two word
melodic line mixed with great rhythm. This is what I like the most about
Tonight Alive's "Underworld"; nothing is forced, nothing is over the
top, the largest part of the record is dependent on the voice of Jenna
McDougall and the music flows nicely along with it. The
two heavy contenders of "Underworld", namely "Disappear"
and "My Underworld", featuring guest vocals from Lynn Gunn and Corey
Taylor respectively, are up to par with expectations -this is a pop record
after all- and complete the top tracks of the LP, while most of the songs like
"Just For Now", "Crack My Heart" and "Last Light"
tip the scale from "good job" to "very well done". The
production is heavily drums-influenced sound wise, which is to be expected,
but I'd wish for a bit more balance and I'd let Jenna McDougall's voice roam
free on the record instead of giving it that light distortion effect, but the
band probably wanted to try something different on their fourth record.
If you
count out the seriously mediocre cover artwork and the fact that
"Underworld" could have been two-three songs shorter, I'm really glad
it becomes a part of my musical rotation.
8/10
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