ALBUM REVIEW: What Happened In Roundwood – Under
Stockport miscreants, UNDER return with their third full length album of un-easy listening ditties, What Happened In Roundwood. Birthed in the same UK doom/sludge/stoner scene that gave rise to the likes of BOSS KELOID, KUROKUMA, and DESERT STORM, UNDER have always had a uniquely singular approach to songwriting, taking the stoner-doom punch and lacing it with hefty doses of twisted prog and angular noise-rock to create a sonic brew that sounds like no other.
Despite the undeniable quality of their recorded output so far, UNDER have always been criminally slept on. UNDER‘s 2017 debut album, Slick, was the first ever to be released on APF Records and since then many of their label mates have gone on to achieve fair to moderate levels of success with albums nowhere near as well crafted, while UNDER remained bafflingly overlooked. If there’s any justice in the world, What Happened In Roundwood is the album that finally results in this odd little trio finally getting their flowers.
It certainly deserves to. Yes Slick and its follow-up Stop Being Naive are both excellent examples of UNDER’s singular sound, but What Happened In Roundwood is their most fully realised to date. Part concept-album, part Lynchian horror, the album forces the listener to peer voyeuristically through the dirty windows of the dilapidated dwellings in the fictional town of Roundwood and become immersed in the pathetic, harrowing lives of its residents.
Tantrum lures us into this dark and unsettling world, with guitarist Simon Mayo laying down a screeching, repetitive riff that sounds like an alarm going off, while Andy Preece hammers out an off kilter beat creating a vertigo inducing polyrhythm. With their opening gambit they’ve already managed to put you on edge and it’s just a taste of what’s to come.
Anyone familiar with UNDER’s music, especially their live shows, will attest to just how insanely talented these three musicians are, playing with mind-bending time signatures and conjuring unearthly sounds from their instruments with an ease that would make even the most seasoned player want to go home and practice.
There are many bands with half the talent of these three that fall into the trap of using their songs as a way to show off. UNDER, however, show a level of restraint that many prog musicians should aspire to. They play what serves the song, and know when, for example on Ma, a single hi-hat being hit in 4/4 is more effective in creating tension than a flailing limbed fill, or, as in The Alchemist, a huge, simple doom riff is more effective at propelling the narrative forward than an array of jazz chords. And that’s not to say that there aren’t moments of jaw dropping virtuosity at play throughout those songs, but when they do appear they’re so much more effective.
One of the main characters in Roundwood is Isaac, the son of the previously mentioned Ma. While he’s mentioned throughout the album, he gets his own eponymous track part way through the album, in which Matt Franklin lays out his misgivings in detail in his raspy throated croon. ‘He’s come a long way since kicking on the floor. He stretched his roots out and said “always more”. He won’t be told no, he never would. He’ll never outgrow his childhood.’
That metaphor of roots and trees is one that returns throughout the record, especially on Escape From Roundwood. Sitting at the mid-point, it is one of the real highlights of the record. Centred around a languorous Jerry Cantrell style riff, it’s by far the most melodious track on the album, yet it descends into a doom-laden hell towards the end as Matt laments the cutting of roots. On the theatrically eerie Rings, the tree metaphor continues. The rings of a tree become layers to Isaac’s cloak, slowly being peeled back to reveal the husk within.
The largely instrumental Roots And Limbs is where UNDER really do flex their virtuosic prowess, with meticulously thought out discordance, changing time signatures and blinding fretwork. This ushers in the final act of the Roundwood saga, Felling, in which Isaac sounds to have grown monstrous, his ‘branches’ swallowing the whole town. It’s a disorienting, panic inducing fever dream of a track that sees the band use every tool in their arsenal to create a sense of dread like only they can.
For those that like challenging, off-kilter music played by supremely talented craftsmen, What Happened In Roundwood is essential listening. With this record, UNDER have planted a seed which will see them grow into the towering oak of a band they deserve to be.
Rating: 9/10
What Happened In Roundwood is out now via APF Records.
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