Underoath
Lost In The Sound Of Separation

UNDEROATH - "LOST / IN / THE / SOUND / OF / SEPARATION"

(Tooth & Nail Records/Solid State Records), 2008

By now we all know it, this is the year of the crisis. Or so they say.

Music is no exception. If it's true that we've gotten rid of all the English indie-yee-yee, we have simultaneously realized that the rest of the jar was empty. In fact, the usual good America, in this now past year, offered us nothing interesting. We were adrift in nothingness for a long time. Then came the revival of Underoath.

It seemed, in fact, that they were about to disband after the brilliant "Define the Great Line," but no! On the contrary, they deliver a "pharaonic" and "disarming" album full of new and stimulating sounds where the two voices are in perfect sync throughout its duration. With this work, these guys reaffirm themselves as the only Made in USA band with the so-called guts. The only, unfortunately; true rock band (in the broadest sense of the term) still standing.

The first track is "Breathing in a New Mentality" and it reminds us of whom we're dealing with. In "Anyone Can Dig a Hole But It Takes a Real Man to Call It Home" we find very refined melodic forays, which do not at all diminish the devastating power of the track. On the contrary, they balance it, turning it into a brilliantly shining gem. The following track "A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine", ethereal and hypnotic, is a potential single. "The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed" is purely fascinating experimentation. "Desperate Times Desperate Measures", the first single, is the summary of that rekindled hope I mentioned at the beginning. A perfect track, the vocal interplay between A. Gillespie and S. Chamberlain is impeccable and the related video is superb. 

"Too Bright to See Too Loud to Hear" is the greatest surprise, which sends home 99% of emo bands. Initially, it recalls the atmospheres dear to the best of A Perfect Circle and a certain singing style close to Mars Volta, but what a track. It's a great demonstration of courage and exploration, which many other bands have lost.

The best album of 2008

Only regret - it's a pity that in Italy the deluxe version with DVD wasn't released.

Congratulations and applause