I have never hidden how much I dig Underwire. I’ve seen this band live in its infancy and even then it was clearly a project that was meshed, tight and going places. I’ve previously mentioned Johnny Mills is a good mate and we go back a good twenty or so years together in the Wellington scene, but his pedigree, and that of the other band members Jane Brimblecombe, Mark Hamill (he plays the drums like a Jedi Master too), Spike Roxburgh and Steve Tremewan, is much older than a mere twenty years. Twenty years – pah! This band is dripping experience and the steady, focused delivery that only a life of the wandering bard gives.

Always, the newest single, again masterfully steered through the studio by the omnipresent Scott Seabright, is a surprise yet not a surprise. Underwire, as a punk/ska band, has a maturity to its songwriting evident across 100% of releases to date. The raw, visceral punk anthems, the new wave foot stompers, are now joined by a compelling ska number, written and sung by guitar player Spike.

We have ourselves a sweet yet slightly haunting vocal melody, enhanced by a melancholy reggae-rich guitar led beat, that sends your heart unbidden to places long forgotten, long buried, half yearned for and half fearing the memory of, the pain from, the loss. And that’s exactly what the song is about. From the EPK: ‘Always is a breakup song, but one of acceptance rather than melancholy: about picking yourself up and moving on with life.” And as Spike says: “The lyrics just kind of poured out over the riff when I wrote it: a simple reggae style riff, which had a starkness to it, and seemed to fit the sense of loss at the time. It’s more of a punk riff really, but that’s just how I write.”

It’s a gently moving tempo, not slow, but very warm and giving you time to take it the mood of the headspace it sends you to. Great lead guitars join in with some groovy effects chucked on top. You can hear Johnny and Jane‘s BVs nicely contrasting with the lead vocal at the right points, and not a second more or less. The composition, orchestration and arrangements were definitely well thought through and honed through show after show until we finally get to take this quality track home!

If there’s any song by any band this sits alongside, but in no way emulates or copies, it would be Black Flag‘s 1980 legendary hit Amigo. Mainly for the warmth shrouding the melancholy; that intangible sorrow underlying the soul of reggae and the Caribbean’s collective history.

It’s out now, and you’ll definitely be hearing it around the traps. Radio tends to pick Underwire up, for which I am not remotely surprised, so keep an ear out. It goes without saying that this track is already well received live. Come to think of it, Underwire would go soooo well on a bill with a number of the Taranaki bands I’ve come to know since picking up this reviews thing… hmmmm…

Underwire. They’re just too damn good not to.