Underride-Distorted Nation

Distorted Nation
2011

I remember "One of us" from Seattle's Underride a few years ago. What most impressed me then was how they managed to take the spirit of late 80's/early 90's hard rock and bring it into present day. On their new release "Distorted Nation" they follow the same path only they have become far more sure of themselves and it shows. They keep the energy of hard rock and in enough smooth melodies similar to alternative rock. This is a guitar lead attack and every song hits you immediately. I tend to like my music a little heavier to be honest, but I was still immediately taken by this album. They blur genres and decades while managing to embody the real heart of hard rock. Tracks like "Paparazzi", "Don't walk away", "Inside Out" and "Road to nowhere" are just a few good examples of how Underride just attack with hooks that will immediately grab you. I found myself listening to most of the songs multiple times because they were just that catchy. Nothing fancy here, but they know how to write memorable hooks and melodies plus some fine vocals help a lot too. Definitely an album I plan on listening to throughout the year.

http://www.myspace.com/underrideseattle

Underride-One of us

Self-Produced
2008



"One of us" is the fourth release from Seattle's Underride. However their sound is much more rooted in the rooted in the glitz of 80's hard rock from the LA area. However, don't get it into your mind that they are a direct copy of those big-haired bands of two decades ago. No, this band sounds more like a descendant of that style. Certainly they are influenced by the likes of LA Guns, Ratt, Motley Crue, Poison and others. Still they manage to takes the essence of those bands, drag it into this decade and step it up just enough that it seems fresh. It took me a few spins to determine the above, but eventually it became clear. Perhaps the music is closer to an older hard rock style than the vocals are. Where I hear songs like "Side by side" and "On the radio" I hear enough in the grooves and hooks that I feel like temporarily transported back to about 1987. Still the music pushes ahead more as they don't just live on one riff like many popular hard rock acts back in the day. Underride make and effort to drive forward and keep the ball rolling . The vocals have as much in common with this decade and the 1990's as they do with the 1980's. They are strong and gritty, but not exactly like the throat searing vocals of many of the bands they are likely influenced by. I think that they manage to do a good job of bringing hard rock into today's time or at least they come closer than a lot of other bands. If there is one downside to this album it's that many of the songs are the speed and some of them do blend together a little. I would like to see them mix it more the next time around. Underride have done an admirable job of taking an established style and adding some of their own ideas to it. The result is a gleaming, fired up blast of heavy music.

http://www.myspace.com/underrideseattle