Underdog (2) – The Vanishing Point

This, the sole Underdog full-length album, has gotten something of an undeserved, underrated legend. For many years, the opinion in hardcore circles on Underdog could largely be summed up as: "their 7" is great, and their album is lousy". Indeed, the Revelation "Demos" LP was, upon its 90s release, far more popular among hardcore fans (and purists) than was "The Vanishing Point." However, not only was Underdog never a typical band, but the album and label who released it were also atypical. Caroline was considered to be a major label by the strident hardcore community, and even Warzone was criticized for g with them after their Revelation 7" release, in an interesting parallel. Underdog, like period NYC bands such as Life's Blood or Token Entry, was not a simplistic or purist hardcore band; their experimentation with slower tempos and reggae proves that. And with the inclusion of great skater/McRad alum Chuck Treece on guitar, whose talent made him an in-demand session artist, Underdog was looking to push the envelope.

In addition, 1989 was a time of evolution for certain parts of the hardcore scene, and it could be said that Underdog was part of that. Between the production and the sound they chose, Underdog was clearly looking to carve their own niche. Years before the stomp/"groovecore" sound became popular in hardcore, Underdog was utilizing slow building tempos to highlight Richie Birkenhead's distinct and often anguished vocals. The opening "From Now On" and "A Lot To Learn" set the album up for this band's powerful messages driven by very tight musicianship. While hardcore purists will decry this as too much production, the album sounds like a cohesive whole and even a well-thought-out document. Underdog was a unique hardcore band, and one that fascinatingly, never really broke up. This NJ-based act still plays out sporadically, and this album was reissued by Go-Kart in 1998 with live bonus tracks on the CD (that are exclusive).

Underdog is well worth another visit by grown up hardcore kids who'd ed them by, and by fans of hard and spiritual music overall. They were a band with a limited amount of remarkably tight and distinguished material that has aged very well.