The Norwegian quartet Underwing released this EP of theirs entitled "Kaela Upsweep" earlier on this year and the five songs that constitute the effort are quite cool to immerse oneself in. Musically and stylistically speaking, these guys are inspired by some of the great hard rock acts of the 70s and the groove and swagger that those giants were in possession of, but there are clearly a lot of grunge influences present in Underwing’s interesting blend of different genres and elements too. In fact, countless sections and passages bring to mind Alice in Chains at their heaviest and most riff-based, which is to say that Underwing know damn well how to conjure up meaty and bone-crushing riffs with substance and weight to them. Other acts such as the mighty Black Sabbath and to some extent the otherworldly proggers Tool also come to mind whenever I spin this disc.

 

The slightly more experimental and convoluted parts might be little tricky to absorb and digest the first few times one listen to "Kaela Upsweep", but they add a lot of color and nuance to the whole affair. The tracks are somewhat long and sprawling, which allows them to cover a lot of ground and take a lot of interesting twists and turns throughout, which entails that they are nicely unpredictable and engaging to listen to. The melodies are catchy and the musicianship is strong. The somewhat raw and loose yet punchy sound of the album suits the song material perfectly, so no complaints there either.