My first thought when cracking open this album was, “since when did Underworld play rock?” Indeed, had I realized that Underworld was the name of the album and not the artist, I probably wouldn’t have listened. That’s no diss to *double-checks artist name* Tonight Alive, it just means that I have my listening predilections just like anyone else. This is exactly why I listen to as much music as I do—it often forces me into strange new corners that lie outside of my musical comfort zone.
My second impression was that this was a pretty decent Christian rock band (wrong again). The hyper-slick production quality, conventional song forms, square riffing, and vague lyrics about love and spirituality all seemed to point to one of the world’s most despised genres. Again, I need to temper this by saying that I myself don’t mind Christian rock, it’s just that those who don’t like it seem to hate it passionately. Once religion gets added to a musical idea, it opens a whole can of worms that incites opinions far beyond the music. I personally respect people who use music as a vehicle of praise and worship.
This, however, is not Christian rock. Somehow, knowing that a band sounds like this and doesn’t even have a divine mission is especially disappointing.
Mike Frasier Music 