Constant Speck - Review

Rolling Stain Magazine

19th December 1990

Album: Constant Speck

Band: Underlife

Reviewed by: Walter Neff

Rating: Two Stars

Don’t get me wrong, I was once a real fan of Underlife. Their last album was built around the dreamy, semi-mysterious single "Spaceyou," a slick slice of country-pop that sold a bunch of units and excused the band's shortcomings. Lyrically they were no threat to Dylan, but that didn't matter much when all the pings and pongs echoed gracefully and harmonicas conjured up beautifully detached, nocturnal landscapes. Now they've returned with the heartfelt album “Constant Speck”, which is filled with guitars and oh so serious lyrics, delivered by band members who are much better musicians than they are storytellers. Johnny Vanguard in particular appears to have lost his way here, and other band members including Davis (“Spencer”) Lees appear to be just going through the motions. There are hints of late-period New Order and Johnny Cash on “Constant Speck”, but none of the excitement with each wistful and maudlin track blending into the next. "Couldn't tie me down," "I can't stop this tractor," "Nothing ever lasts," and "The only thing worth living for is mud" are just some of the numerous clichés used for the lyrics, and while some tracks are entirely built from them, Underlife could have just barely pulled it off if they had pulled out the old drum machine. As a guitar-based band, they have no style, and there's no evidence of inspiration guiding the beat combo switchover. “Constant Speck” fulfils all of the "faceless" criticisms thrown at them in the past, while alienating whatever fan base they had before.

t