Album Review: Todd Underwood - "Outside"
Tracklist
- Welcome to the Stage
- First in Line
- Its Not Broken
- Outside
- Something You Wanted to Say
- Too Soon to Quit
- Shadow of the Battlefield
- Reap What I Sow
- Glass House
- Ride it High
- Tell Me Not to Worry
Review
With more than 35 years in the music industry, Todd Underwood has written 30+ albums and has taken his success with touring acts in the 80s/90s and started his solo career.
“Welcome to the Stage” starts off with acoustic guitar and melodic singing that slowly builds into clean electric guitar tones and soaring vocals. Taking a softer rock sound, Todd Underwood showcases influences from bands like The Police, King’s X, and Saosin. Saxophones, thumping bass lines, and booming drums all work alongside rhythmic guitar and powerful vocals to create a harmonic and energetic sound.
“First in Line” starts with reverbed guitar before bursting directly into grooving rock. Todd Underwood takes his post-hardcore and hard rock influences and creates a softer sound that focuses on melody with a hint of an harder edge to it. A lengthy ambient instrumental outro fades out the track for the last 3 minutes as softer guitar slowly changes tone to soaring electric tone.
“It’s Not Broken” begins with a pop-esque sound that is mixed with rock, creating an eccentric and almost punk-like sound. With a focus one melody and groove, Todd Underwood creates songs that mix various rock genres with a sound that would widely appeal to most listeners.
“Outside” blasts off with explosive guitar tones, debuting the heaviest sound of the album so far. In a drastic switch of pacing, the track transitions to singing vocals and a more progressive rock sound with clean reverbed guitar. “Outside“ gives a taste of heavier influences and then follows with a 7 minute journey through a more progressive side of Todd Underwood’s sound.
Track 5, “Something You Wanted to Say” draws from a funky sound that immediately reminded us of Red Hot Chili Peppers. What-wah guitars and sliding bass leads create funk-grooves that make way for a more traditional and anthemic chorus. “Something You Wanted to Say” blends new funk influences excellently with Todd Underwood’s previously showcased sound so far in the album.
“Too Soon to Quit” starts as softer vocals and gentler instrumentals make way for a fast paced chorus that is brimming with dynamics. Just past the halfway point of the track, an epic guitar solo shreds its way into existence before leading into a final catchy chorus.
“Shadow of the Battlefields” slows things down with acoustic guitars, soft vocals, and dark melodies. In a sudden energy shift, Todd Underwood introduces brighter electric-acoustic guitar, as strong vocals cover topics of battle and war.
“Reap What I Sow” starts with a powerful riff that’s a mix of classic hard rock and funk-rock. Blasting into a faster-paced chorus, Todd Underwood utilizes contrast between harsher and more funky guitar tones to create a powerful sense of dynamics.
“Glass House” furthers funk influences while harsher singing vocals verge on screams. Bright guitar melodies are juxtaposed by darker and more aggressive guitar tones, showcasing a spectrum of influences across rock and metal genres. In a progressive outro, technical guitar chugs and groovy cowbells create a unique sound to fade out the song.
“Ride It High” starts with a riser before reintroducing a softer sound that launches into an energy-filled chorus with emphasized vocal hooks, slamming bass lines, and crashing drums. In a change of pacing, Todd Underwood slows the energy in a bridge with a focus on strong vocals before catapulting the listener into a final chorus.
The final song of the album, “Tell Me Not to Worry” reintroduces previous metal influences as dark guitar chugging in rapid patterns brings on a technical aspect wile showcasing a harsher instrumental sound. A soaring guitar solo layers overtop of powerful guitar chords before making way for the song’s finale.
Overall Todd Underwood showcases a diverse sphere of musical influences with his album “Outside”. From pop, to funk, to rock, to metal, and many more—Todd Underwood blends his wide influences into a catchy sound that fans will enjoy. You can stream “Outside” on all streaming platforms now!
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