Tonight Alive have returned from the slightly underwhelming ‘Limitless‘ with a 13-track cracker of an album, ‘Underworld‘, due for release on 12th January.
This album was born from vocalist Jenna McDougall writing about depression and all the feelings that come with it, as well as self-doubt, and the pressures of being a female, and with that, a female musician – but the overall sound of the album juxtaposes these darker themes with energetic rhythms and melodies. Where 2016’s Limitless fell through, ‘Underworld’ more than makes up for.
McDougall said of the album, ““The album is called Underworld and I named it that because it reflects the ugly parts of me that I wasn’t ready to see until now.” Rather than singing about just feeling awful, her lyrics have more of an empowering feel, making you feel like it’s okay to not be okay. As an album full of some of their most honest tracks, Tonight Alive steer towards powerful lyrics as McDougall explores her emotions and her mental health, under the band’s ever-impressive riffs, creating anthemic masterpieces.
Musically, Tonight Alive follow with their grunge-rock sound, but update this with subtle synth elements littered throughout songs, leaning towards a more power-pop style, but the variety in sound from harder songs like ‘Waiting for the End‘, to the soft crooning vocals in ‘Looking for Heaven’ prove that the band are capable of a lot more than we’ve seen previously.
As well as touring the US with Silverstein, Tonight Alive will also be playing dates in the UK and Europe with The Gospel Youth and With Confidence:
March 8th – London, UK @ Koko
March 10th – Glasgow, UK @ QMU Glasgow
March 11th – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
March 12th – Leeds, UK @ Stylus @ Leeds University
March 13th – Bristol, UK @ Motion