“105 Grams”

By Ashley Gallagher

Under Atoms is a band from the New England area, so it seems fitting to give them a review with the Super Bowl right around the corner. They are categorized as Alternative Rock, which is evident as soon as you listen to them. They note their influences as artists like Tori Amos and Porcupine Tree. They pulled from Porcupine Tree’s ability to mellow out the rock genre, but kept the influence from Tori Amos as a way to keep 90’s rock in their sound. I would also note the similarities between them and Flyleaf. The lead singer, Heather Taskovics’s, vocals are very similar to those of Lacey Mosley. Their newest EP is called “105 Grams” with just three songs on it, but I feel that these songs give you what the basis of the band is about.

In the first song, “DJ,” it starts with a guitar riff and soft, almost haunting, vocals. As the song goes on, Heather Taskovic’s voice begin to become more powerful as the guitar and drum parts begin to pick up and the rock influence becomes more evident. Though the only thing I feel could be a little different was the fact that the song kept repeating the same sentence over and over again, it became very boring around the halfway point.

“Halogen” is the next song on the album is heavily dependent on guitar. There are ad-lib words and a very prominent lead guitar, but overall it was an easy listen. Unlike the first, this didn’t seem to drag out at much and the vocals came in at the beginning, stopped, and then again, but more powerful later on.

The third and final song, “Demon Wave” was probably my favorite song on the album. The guitars are clean and the drumbeat isn’t overwhelming. This one lyrically and musically stood out the most to me. I saw clear influences from Tori Amos, but also sounds of Flyleaf. The back and forth between female vocal and male slightly reminded me of something you could possibly see on an Evanescence song, but not as powerful as Amy Lee’s vocals. This song was the longest on the album, but it was very lively and kept moving forward instead of dragging behind, so it didn’t feel as long. It felt very entertaining.

All in all, I felt these were a really good three songs and I think that if you like female fronted bands and rock, it is worth a listen.