StereoFire

In preparation to review Underoath’s new record, Lost In The Sound Of Separation, I listened to every Underoath record from start to finish, including the brutal Dallas Taylor-fest Act Of Depression, just to get some perspective.

Underoath are famous for changing their sound between every release, so how does the new record sound? Thankfully, they haven’t departed too much from 2006’s phenomenal Define The Great Line. There’s definitely more heaviness, more low growls from Spencer Chamberlain, but overall the sounds is a natural progression. Not quite a different sound, not quite Define The Great Line 2.0.

Breathing In A New Mentality is a jarring opener that makes In Regards To Myself look tame. The change of pace near the end, with Spencer screaming I’m afraid there must be some kind of mistake, Oh I’m in over my head again. Reach in and grab a hold of me! adds a heaviness that just wasn’t present on Define The Great Line.

From the moment Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home hits you, it’s clear that Underoath have evolved. The poppiness they played with on They’re Only Chasing Safety has gone entirely. Here is a record that sounds like a mix of Define The Great Line mixed with a few other influences.

There are a few tracks towards the end of the record, namely The Created Void and Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear, that wouldn’t sound out of place on As Cities Burn’s Come Now Sleep.

What can you expect from this record? The vocal tennis between Aaron and Spencer that played throughout They’re Only Chasing Safety has gone. For a lot of the record, Spencer will deliver most of the song, with Aaron Gillespie delivering blistering choruses and interludes as necessary. This isn’t a bad thing, and it’s used to good effect in a lot of songs. Aaron’s vocals have evolved in this record: he uses a much greater vocal range. For example, in Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home, there is a surprising vocal style that we haven’t heard from Gillespie up to this point. I gave you nothing, I took you nowhere he sings over subtle guitar work that wouldn’t sound out of place in You’re Ever So Inviting.

A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine gives us the careful play between Spencer and Aaron that made Define The Great Line such a success. A carefully-placed breakdown adds effect, before the song breaks into Spencer and Aaron giving it all they’ve got for the dramatic ending: I was lying! I was lying! In a jangle of melody, the song is fades out.

Emergency Broadcast starts slower, brooding in a manner quite similar to Casting Such A Thin Shadow. With darker guitar work, this song really wouldn’t sound out of place on Norma Jean’s latest effort The Anti Mother. Sadly it doesn’t build up quite as much as its older brother. But this is no bad thing, as the song edges closer to the end with Spencer screaming Tell me it’s not too late!

The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed showcases more of the erratic timing and heavy sound Underoath showcased in Everyone Looks So Good From Here. Spencer’s screams are much lower here, something that carries throughout the record. A slow, jarring start makes way for a quieter interlude, followed by a chorus that really showcases Aaron Gillespie at his finest. You’ll wonder how he can sing like that and drum at the same time. They just spin in little circles - that’s all that they know screams Spencer, just before the song bursts into a crescendo of background singers: None of them will ever know.

The end of Lost In The Sound Of Separation is a lot quieter than previous Underoath records. Thankfully, it’s much more interesting to listen to than To Whom It May Concern, the ending from Define The Great Line that’s so easy to skip if you’re not in the mood.

Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear has an interlude of Good God, can you still get us home? before a blistering duet from Aaron and Spencer sends us spiraling down into the closing instrumental track, Desolate Earth: The End.

So will you like Lost In The Sound Of Separation? If you were a fan of Define The Great Line and you’re not short sighted enough to expect a band to stick with the same sound forever, than yes. You’ll love it. Underoath have shown that they’re capable of so much more than Define The Great Line had to offer. When I got into Define The Great Line, I thought it wouldn’t bother me too much if Underoath never released another record. Although it may be a strange thing to say, such a great record would have made a fitting swansong for an amazing band. Underoath had a lot to live up to with this new release - and thankfully, they’ve delivered. Much like Define The Great Line, this record is definitely a grower. Listen to it a few times and it’ll have you hooked. It’ll be on repeat on my iPod for weeks.

Tags: Underoath

This entry was posted on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 10:16 pm and is filed under New Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.