Bands should never, ever, ever say in their own bio that they are one of the fastest emerging bands in the scene, or something similar. It sounds terrible and pompous. By all means try and make yourselves sound as good as possible, but unless you’ve already gained a stack of press and reasonable support slots, the chances are you’ll sound like you’re trying to blow smoke up your own arse. And no-one wants to see that…
Underline The Sky are a decent prospect but are some way off being one of the best young bands in the scene. Their secret weapon is clearly singer Bronwyn Cooper who, in the band’s promo pics, is portrayed as the snarling frontwoman…yet on record there’s not enough passion and energy. She can clearly sing and sing well, but she seems to be slightly holding back at times. When she does go at it, like on the chorus of ‘Last December’, the band stand out from the pack. But there’s not enough guts across the whole EP for me – it just seems as though she’s singing within herself and I’d like to see her push her voice that bit further as I think the band could do well for themselves if they can utilise Bronwyn’s vocals better.
Songs-wise, Underline The Sky aren’t too bad. They’re primarily a pop-punk band but not poppy enough for the All Time Low‘s of the world nor are the riffs hard enough to be Me vs Hero. I guess it’s something critics of Hey Monday have said too, that the band haven’t quite got their foot in a specific genre to capitalise on what they have. ‘Katie’ suggests the band can write crunchy riffs and catchy choruses, but neither are quite up to the standard of their more mainstream peers. Still, Underline The Sky are on the right lines and with some real hard work could easily make a break for the top. Ones to watch…