ninehertz

The UK doom underground is a crowded place. And to be clear – this is a great thing. We get to hear new releases from the scene routinely, there are gigs aplenty and a supportive network nationally that is something all should be proud of. Under are an anomaly from within, musically madcap and sounding unlike anyone else. We need bands like Under to keep it different, to enliven all-day bills, to keep it fresh. There are others providing a similar service, but none quite like Under.

What Happened in Roundwood is classic Under, typically obtuse, like Jesus Lizard in a sludge infested swamp. Occasional moments of lucidity bring satisfying riffs, but even these are truly warped, toying with the listener. Some songs merely creep by. Are they too weird? It is a close-run call.

The cross-pollination of stoner, doom and noise-rock shines through on occasion, wobbling around with a woozy stagger, the noise-rock an angry presence bristling with threat. On Isaac, probably the standout song, it paints a vista you want to explore, even if the rules of reality within are amiss. I hear an experimental Faith No More in Escape Roundwood, and Neurosis in the quiet of Rings.

Is it lazy to call them prog? Probably – maybe only as a catch all for the strange time signatures and, essentially, my inability to decipher never mind describe what’s going on. For all it feels that way, something new will dispel any handle you may have on it. Its final track has wiry guitars that scratch at your brain, restlessly jumpy like a cat that’s binged a bag of sugar.

It isn’t shameful to find this mildly irritating at times, perhaps as they mangle a line that had seemed to be heading somewhere cool, or as its angularity starts to grate. But it’s impossible to hold a grudge as this is part of the package, a band playing a melody that exists only in their own heads – and anyway, it’ll likely change up sharpish and turn to something you do get. Love it, hate it, scratch your head – it doesn’t really matter, they owe nothing to anyone; unapologetically uncaringly unfigurable Under.