Life Underfoot is a young, developing band drawing influence from rock, punk, and pop punk to create their own sound in a populated genre. Their EP Peaks and Valleys gives a light touch of what the band can deliver with its acoustic tracks. A short experience that has some emotionally, well-written lyrics and not much else to offer.
Our Swan Song opens up with a slow crawl to an atmospheric acoustic track. The guitars overpower the vocals. Some moments it feels that Andre Judge’s voice is too quiet, while others it comes out balanced with the instrumentation.
Out of the three songs, Clock Face has the most inconsistent sound. While the previous track had some issues with Judge’s voice sounding too quiet, this becomes more apparent that caught me right on the first listen. With a better mix then the acoustic song would standout stronger.
The group put away their acoustic guitars to have something maintaining the same pacing while being powered by electricity with the other guitar. Chroma has a nice contrast to the other two songs with its electric guitar. The change in sound compliments Judge’s voice much better and makes his higher pitched voice much more tolerable. Another issue with the music here except everything is too loud. Unlike the quieter tracks that sounded off, this blasts too much for a slower, somber track.
Life Underfoot has a lot of potentials, but the recording and mixing process threw off what could have been an enjoyable EP with some emotion-provoking lyrics and strong structure. The instrumentation felt too repetitive without not enough difference to make each song stand out as individuals, instead of the first two blends together. With Chroma saving the day with its different dynamics and adding something fresh to Peaks and Valleys.
Score: 5/10
Check out the band and Peaks and Valleys here and on Facebook
Special thanks to Rogue PR for helping making this review possible.
Image via Life Underfoot
Tristan Zelden 