All it takes is 3 chords and a dream!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Review: Under Your Bed - Under Your Bed


Under Your Bed – Under Your Bed
2008, Under Your Bed


Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Under Your Bed was born in a coffee-house open mic night in 2005, when guitarist Jim Marchione saw vocalist Elissa Sapp perform with “an acoustic guitar that was bigger than she was”. The voice and charisma that poured out of that tiny little vocalist impressed Marchione, and the seeds for Under Your Bed were born. Adding Brayne Jennings (bass), Zach Brown (drums) and Jon Rossi (rhythm guitar) over a period of time helped to flesh out both the sound and the creative process of Under Your Bed. The culmination (thus far), is the CD Under Your Bed (self-titled), released in 2008. Compared to bands like No Doubt, David Bowie and Stone Temple Pilots, Under Your Bed also works in a little bit of old school punk attitude and energy.

Under Your Bed opens with Unmanageable, with lead vocalist Elissa Sapp sounding like a cross between Gwen Stefani (in her No Doubt days) and Courtney Love. Unmanageable is a perfect introduction to Sapp and the rest of Under Your Bed. The song is anthemic for a lost generation and completely in the spirit of the classic punk bands of the 1970’s without sounding dated. Sapp revs up the adrenaline with Leave The Lights On, a great Rock N Roll come on song. Shut Your Trap shows the band in full frenzy with Sapp like a tigress on the prowl. This is a classic song and likely to be a concert favorite. My favorite song on the disc is Inertia, which is built around one of the nastiest guitar licks you’ll find. Full of great hooks and a sing-a-long chorus, Inertia would have real commercial potential. Be sure to check out Piss On My Parade and S.F.I. (So F### It) for your fill of classic punk attitude.

Under Your Bed could be many things to many people. They are a punk band, an alt-rock band. A melodic hard rock band or Modern Rock band. Vocalist Sapp is a charismatic front woman with a voice that grabs your attention, but Jim Marchione really drives the sound here; an excellent guitar player with some highly creative tendencies in song construction. Under Your Bed is a fun listen and mostly hits the right notes on their debut, Under Your Bed. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Under Your Bed at www.underyourbedmusic.com or www.myspace.com/underyourbedcpr. You can purchase a copy of Under Your Bed at www.cdbaby.com/cd/underyourbed.

No comments: