Album Of The Week: Underdog - Vanishing Point

Underdog - Vanishing Point (1989)

So this is the first of many Album Of The Week entries I'll be doing. This week's focus is on New York's own Underdog. Underdog is probably one of my favorite bands, and this album is great. Mixing everything from hardcore to raggae this album is really ace. When I listen to this album I can only think how different it is from most other NYHC bands. You can definitely hear a major Bad Brains influence, but it also has a grungy feel to it. Some of my personal favorite songs on this album would have to be Mass Movement and Back To Back. Mass Movement is probably the perfect blend of hardcore and raggae. Very soulful and relaxing in the beginning, then goes straight into a burst of hardcore and finally ending with something similar to the beginning. And Back To Back is just an amazing song all around. Every song on the album is. Now I've heard talk about the quality of the recording being horrible, but I disagree. Though most bands from that time did have "better" recording quality, I feel Vanishing Point came out very well. Richie is probably one of the best vocalists of all time and his performance in every song is amazing. If you haven't listened to this album I highly recommend you do. I'll probably upload it sometime this or next week along with the Demos LP.
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