released October 7,1997

As a young man growing up in a time when pop bands like Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys were echoing in the school halls, thoughts of vehicular homicide felt like the answer. Fortunately (for them) I didn’t own a car and a driver’s license, but I had a brand new CD player and the album that saved me from committing murder.

Matthew Good Band: Underdogs was one of the first CDs I bought and still own to this day.

This album was everything great in the late 90s “alt-rock scene”. Similar to the English band, Catherine Wheel, Underdogs have an unusual lurking emotion. The vocals from lead singer Matthew Good are strangely interesting music that pulls you in.

If I can compare this album to a drink, it will have a dash of Joey Santiago, a splash of the Pixies, and a liter of Black Francis. One song that stands out is “Everything is Automatic”. The song features the alternative willfulness in its pace and a ripe outlet for Good’s cynicism in its theme.

Unfortunately, they won’t be another album like “Underdog”. Matthew Good is still making music, but it doesn’t have the same energy that his last albums, and that’s fine, given the fact Underdogs came out over 20 years ago. You should never keep playing the same style of music all the time, you just end up sounding static.

However, with today’s newer Canadian bands, I don’t think we will get another album like Underdogs.