The Undivided -This new Day

(CD Album Review)

****

Welsh Rockers heading to the top!

Well Wales has done it again. Out of the blue they throw Indie Rock band The Undivided at us, and like all the other Welsh bands, they know what they are doing, and they do it well. The band are driven heavily by their catchy guitar riffs and light melodic vocal lines, and from the looks of this LP, they are going to be making their mark. The first track and the current single of the record is 'This new day'. This is a great start to the album, really showing what the band are about from the word go. The whole song is a great track and is a great single. The chorus is more of an anthem that you have to sing out loud, and you will find yourself singing it as you walk around. Its a great song for the band and will prove to be on par with the best.

The album's second track is 'Worlds apart'. This track really impressed me due to the guitar and bass work on the intro, tone wise it worked really well even though it is so simple. The lyrics to the song are really good, not the usual lyrics and melody wise they are perfect. The only problem with the song was the guitar solo because it was a little too quiet, but other than that it really is a great song and is one of the best on the album. The third song ‘When the lights go out’ starts out slow, but slowly grows and swells into a monster. The intro in my opinion should of been done on an acoustic guitar, because it sounded too much like a Blink 182 kind of intro, with the whole electric guitar strummed on clean, it just doesn’t work.

However, once the drums start coming in with the bass, it all clicks and fits together well. 'Breathe' is a track I really struggled to write about this song as it is quite a predictable track, but that's not to say its not worth listening to. Its a good track with a lot of kick to it. The vocals are good with great lyrics and as usual with the band, the catchy chorus has you singing along. 'Fires' is a great song, It has a great structure and a great build ups to it and is just generally brilliant track. It's also very upbeat with a lot of different dynamics which makes it really interesting to listen to. I found myself having it on repeat quite a bit as it really is a good song, which i kept finding myself wanting more from it. The guitar work in the verses is great, doing little bits to fill out the sound and really help to complete the song.

“Headlights” is the sixth song on the LP and this song grabbed my attention as soon as it started. The song quickly built up and came in big and loud. The verses came in perfectly, with the gentle lead guitar in the background, it worked really well, and to me this shows that the band put a lot of effort and thought into the song. The bridge in the song was great, it really slowed the song down for a huge ending that really seals the deal with the song. 'Ghosts' in the beginning makes me think it would be quite a slow song, just cause compared to some of the others it isn’t always loud and lots of guitar, but as the song goes on it grows into a monster and really is a top track. The vocalist on this track really shows what he can do, and man he can sing.

'Tiny little lights' is quite a calm and relaxing song, the dynamics of it completely slow the album down and it really is a gentle song compared to the other songs. 'Stand' was my favourite song it just flows seamlessly and turns into a track that is really impressive. I love the way everything is spaced out and how good the song is. I could easily recommend the band to everyone just from this song, it really shows the band off to their full potential.

The final song on the 'Futures' is an acoustic track and a great way to finish everything of. It's simplistic use of vocal harmonies and guitar parts mean that its not overwhelming, and is just a really peaceful and honest track. Overall I think this band are going to be huge, they have an amazing future in line for them, and if they carry on the way they are going, they will have no hassle getting to where they want to go.

Review by Ryan Monshall