ALBUM REVIEW: Real Food At Last – Understand
Southend post-hardcore heroes UNDERSTAND were a big deal in their 90s heyday with their melodic and emotive take on groove-laden hardcore. After an EP recorded with famed New York hardcore producer Don Fury, the band released Burning Bushes And Burning Bridges – an album turned out to be the only one they released but a record that made an impact in the UK and garnered positive reviews as the band built up a great following along with like minded fellow Southend bands like CYNICAL SMILE and ABOVE ALL.
The band also gained a well-earned reputation as an outstanding live outfit and played gigs with and toured with the likes of QUICKSAND, SHELTER, HELMET, SICK OF IT ALL and even PANTERA . It certainly seemed that they were destined for even bigger things, but at the tail end of the 90s music industry woes brought things to a standstill for UNDERSTAND as they fizzled out to become more of a cult group for those in the know.
Until now that is, as during lockdown the downtime gave the members of the band time to reflect and get together unreleased UNDERSTAND recordings. The tragic passing of the band’s guitarist John Hannon (who had been instrumental in getting the recordings together) in 2021 gave an understandably poignant feeling to the project and with that, the band are back (in a way) with Real Food At Last, which acts as both a tribute to Hannon and a celebration of all that UNDERSTAND achieved.
From the opening verve of Real Food At Last‘s title track to the stirring outro of Lightweight, the band sound vibrant and it is a joy to hear new UNDERSTAND material, albeit with a hint of sadness that this is the last we are going to get from the band. But it must be said that the opportunity to hear these songs, which seemed lost over all those years, makes listening to them all the more special.
The band’s emotive hardcore sound has aged well with songs like Sentence (which is reminiscent of the emotional punch and groove of Adrenaline era DEFTONES), the punchy Sadie and the anthemic I Can Get You In, to name just three, all encapsulating the sound of UNDERSTAND perfectly. It is easy to see how and why the band were making all the right noise when they were around. There is, of course, a certain added poignancy here but the way the songs still sound so urgent means the album sounds more triumphant than melancholy despite all the circumstances that surround the band and this record both past and present.
Real Food At Last acts, ultimately, as a document of how good a band UNDERSTAND were and also a celebration of the band’s music and spirit, something that should definitely be remembered and revered.
Rating: 8/10
Real Food At Last is out now via Rise Records.
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