{"id":441843,"date":"2026-01-29T23:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441843\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T23:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T23:42:10","slug":"under-what-happened-in-roundwood-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/441843\/","title":{"rendered":"Under – What Happened In Roundwood Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"There\u2019s something tantalizing about the brand of metal-adjacent noise rock that\u2019s experienced a renaissance in recent years. It\u2019s ugly, it\u2019s loud, and it doesn\u2019t give a damn if you\u2019re comfortable. You\u2019ve got breakout stars Chat Pile dragging n\u00fc-metal\u2019s bloated corpse through the mud, Couch Slut dishing out dissonant, riff-heavy nightmare fuel, and Intercourse sounding like a feral animal tearing flesh for fun. This isn\u2019t \u201crevival\u201d music; it\u2019s bands weaponizing noise, smashing metal\u2019s brute force into punk\u2019s emotional hemorrhaging, and then deliberately breaking whatever\u2019s left just to see it scream. Enter the UK\u2019s Under, stepping into this mess with zero interest in playing nice. They fuse sludge metal\u2019s suffocating weight, noise rock\u2019s hostility, and art rock\u2019s weird, confrontational instincts into something genuinely unhinged. Their third record, What Happened In Roundwood, doesn\u2019t aim to be palatable. It aims to crush, mesmerize, and leave a dent. The question isn\u2019t what they\u2019re doing\u2014it\u2019s whether Under hit hard enough to leave permanent damage.<\/p>\n

In the first half of What Happened In Roundwood, Under establishes their own distinct style that sits nicely in conversation with their American contemporaries. The foundations of these songs are built on angular sludge riffs over looping odd time signatures and off-kilter rhythmic patterns, like if a more avant-garde Melvins crashed into a version of Swans that was capable of editing. Bassist and vocalist Matt Franklin anchors the music with simple but weighty low-end riffs, locking tightly with drummer Andy Preece\u2019s commanding, hypnotic grooves. Guitarist Simon Mayo fills in the gaps with jagged riffs and layers of dissonant, skronk-heavy leads. Franklin lends a sneering, British rasp to the endeavor, guiding the songs with an impassioned vocal performance that successfully conveys the aural depravity on display. This formula is deepened with the addition of menacing choral vocals and harmonies (\u201cMa,\u201d \u201cThe Alchemist\u201d), swirling guitar cacophonies (\u201cTantrum), and even Primitive Man-tinged, slow noise bursts (\u201cIsaac\u201d). It\u2019s an effective and thoroughly unsettling display with just enough variety in its execution to keep things exciting until the B-side obliterates any sense of normalcy.<\/p>\n

What Happened In Roundwood by Under<\/a><\/p>\n

In the second half of What Happens In Roundwood, Under undergo a dramatic sonic shift, and the results are thrilling. The final stretch of the album leans heavily into exploratory, avant-garde jazz-influenced territory, with the tracks flowing seamlessly into one another like a three-part suite. These songs stand out as the album\u2019s clear highlights. The sequence begins with \u201cRings,\u201d which unfolds in a state of subdued horror, slowly building tension through sparse instrumentation before reaching a blissful climax. This transitions smoothly into \u201cRoots and Limbs,\u201d a jazzy, post-hardcore-like track that increases the tempo and intensity, providing a sense of release after several slower songs. All of this builds toward the closer, \u201cFelling.\u201d The final track plays out like a fever dream, reprising key moments from earlier in the album and reshaping them into a chaotic haze of noise. When the music finally collapses into rich choral vocals, it feels like the calm at the center of a storm. A perfect ending to a bold and striking second half.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This places What Happens in Roundwood in a peculiar position. The second half of the record explores markedly different sonic territory than the first, and is stronger for it. Under\u2019s more standard sound, showcased on the first five tracks, is engaging, but compared to the highs of the final three, it falls a little short. Repeated listens leave me wanting just a bit more grit or memorability in the more straightforward sludge riffcraft before it gives way to the more exploratory material. I appreciate the band\u2019s efforts to vary their noise-rock\/sludge approach through vocal layers\/embellishments or a Southern tinge (\u201cEscape Roundwood\u201d), but I find myself largely whelmed by the opening salvo. This isn\u2019t a major mark against the record; the album is solid throughout. Still, it keeps the work from standing quite as tall alongside some of my favorites in the style.<\/p>\n

With What Happens In Roundwood, Under have delivered a solid sludgy noise rock record with plenty of autre appeal. I wish the impressive oddity were distributed a bit more evenly throughout the album\u2019s runtime, but it\u2019s still an enjoyable listen that carves out its own unique niche within the broader style. The next time the UK group revisits their brand of sinister sludge, I\u2019ll be excited to listen.<\/p>\n

Rating: Good!
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb\/s mp3
Label: APF Records<\/a>
Websites: understockport.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/understockport<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026<\/p>\n

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