The act is named after its founders Eleanor Underhill and Molly Rose Reed, but Underhill Rose has evolved into a fully-fledged trio with the
full time participation of bassist Salley Williamson. Together, with the help
of the assembled session musicians, the trio from Asheville North Carolina have
made a sensual record reflecting the stripped backed basics of it roots and
country core. THE GREAT TOMORROW is Underhill Rose’s third album release and is
scheduled to be the centre-piece for the group’s first exploration into the UK.
They will find an evolving market ready to embrace a soundtrack underpinned by
the banjo and pedal steel, especially one sprinkled with enticing songs and the
ever popular harmony approach to singing. Overall the album is a positive
recording, quite often simplistic in its themes and gently drifting along in an
unhurried timeless haze.
The many qualities of this record start with both the vocals
and the musical content before edging into more popular territory with a
multitude of hooks. From the exceptional verse melody of five star track ‘Love Looks Good on You’, with its cutting
opening line ‘you don’t like country music, but it still reminds me of you’ to
the ear pleasing refrain on ‘Montana’,
the album is packed with moments to sit up and take note. The latter is one of
the album’s more explicit lyrical elements as it explores the essence of
memory. Other stand-out merits from this Molly-penned track are the violin
interludes which appear at the opening and the mid sections, alongside the
perpetual pedal steel, which along with banjo is seemingly and pleasantly omnipresent.
On the topic of song writing each member makes a steady solo
contribution with Eleanor leading the way with five compositions, followed by
Molly with three and Salley on two. The other track on this eleven song collection
is a cover of the eighties Paula Abdul smash hit ‘Straight Up’. Obviously it has been done in a complete old time
roots style, but still conveying the mass appeal that radiated from this song
across the world at the time. The two songs written by Salley both make a
considerable mark on the album’s landscape. ‘Our Time is Done’ appears as the lead off track, doubles up as the
promoted song via video and ensures Underhill Rose pierce the surface upon
immediate listen. This song which has a folk feel to it, especially in its
lyrical structure and left field relationship content, is followed later by the
enterprising ‘Shine’, not of the sun
variety but explicitly explained in the chorus ‘the moon shines east, the moon
shines west, but the moonshine from our cellar’s best’. This comes across as
one of the darker songs on the record and sees Molly adopt a slightly different
vocal style.
Eleanor and Molly often interchange lead vocal across the
record with the additional harmonies being ever present in their beauty. Instrumentally, Molly settles on guitar, with her other song compositions
being the life and death basic perceptive piece ‘When I Die’ and the more contemporary sounding ‘My Friend’, detailing a falling
relationship. Eleanor’s claw hammer banjo playing is one of the highlights of
the album and from a writing aspect she contributes the slightly abstract ‘Whispering Pines Motel’ and the
philosophical closing title track, ‘The
Great Tomorrow’, complete with its positive warm glow and final parting
shot of drifting pedal steel. ‘Not Gonna
Worry’ and ‘Rest Easy’ are the
final two songs, once again flowing from the pen of Eleanor, with the latter
one being representative of the many hooks that pack the album with appeal.
Stateside, the Americana Music Association has recognised
the talent of Underhill Rose and as well as the release of this new album in
March, the trio will be playing some shows in the UK to promote the record. THE
GREAT TOMORROW could well be the start of a prosperous future for Underhill
Rose on the international stage and its laid back vibes, interesting song
themes and neat presentation make it an album worth checking out.
www.underhillrose.co.uk
