IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

MP3: Underacheiver - Triumph of emptiness

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:48:50 -0700

Two new Underachiever demo tracks were just posted for free download. The first one "Triumph of emptiness" takes a different path than before, showing a new, more melodic side of the band. More syncopation too, taking them more towards the offset rat-tatat of, say, Helmet as opposed to the steady 4/4 caveman drubbing they excelled at on demo #1. Not that I want to be one to discourage growth and progress, but I miss the ready steady lunkheaded singlemindedness of their eighth note pulse and furthermore, I am not feeling the melody, not at all. Vocally, they can't match it either, nor would I want them too. There's certainly something to be said for keeping it simple.

MP3: Underacheiver - Keep an eye

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:31:56 -0700

The thing that gets me most stoked on Underacheiver is their pounding chukka-chukka rhythm with all instruments playing steady eighth notes. No grace notes, no pick-ups, no extravagance; everything completely soli. It's worth noting that the tones they use aren't too distorted either, the heaviness they achieve comes from the total ensemble force moreso than anything else. It's the same thing that makes C.Aarmé so great, that same simple/single-minded repetitiveness, heavy on the down-strokes and light on full-voiced chords. See also: The Ramones. I'm way into it.

Download the band's entire 4-song demo right here: http://underachiever.se/?page_id=13