While "Balance of Power" expanded Undercover's sound to a point where hard rockers embraced the band for perhaps the first time--seeing how they used to be a bopping keyboard nuevo wave-o band--this album takes the band one step further. This 10-song disc starts off with "Work it Out," where Ojo's monster bass comes screaming out of the mix. Gym Nicholson's guitar tone achieves a groovin' sound that would be the envy of any new band trying to cop the Seattle sound--which is a broad new label that could smother this project if Undercover didn't have its own niche in the smaller fishbowl of Christian music. For instance, "Where I Should Be" could pass for a Sound Garden or Pearl Jam tune. The production and songwriting quality is hot enough to air on any aggressive radio station anywhere. "Man, Oh Man," which introduces a smokin' horn section, doesn't lower the level of the bass frequency at all (in fact, it actually goes up a notch or two), pounding out a low rumble. This song and "Purple Flower" establish a hot sound from Gym's guitar rig--a great mixture of wah-wah and grunge. The title track is an epic (six minutes, 16 seconds) tune with big swells and sweeping emotion, while its follow-up, "Promenade," takes the anthemic mood at the end of "Devotion" ("Lift your hands, it's time to fly, people") and lifts it in a slow, plodding ballad manner. What I can say for this Undercover album that I couldn't say about any others is that I like it all--even the super slow "All That I Am," which acts as a worship song of surrender. This album, along with the incredible Die Happy and Applehead albums are projects that shouldn't go unnoticed. Check this stuff out, eh?
