Members
Eugene Awyong (guitars an vocals)
Tan Yean Loon (bass and vocals)
Chris Poon (drums)
Who they are
Humurous, candid and down-to-earth.
This is how personable the four guys from Unde_Raged are, as they oscillate between throwing cheeky jibes at one another and revealing future plans for the band.
"We've been around since late 1992," says Wayne Seah, vocalist and guitarist of Unde_Raged. "Is Us is a collection of songs we have penned since that year and recorded at Boss Studio last October."
"Is Us is a personal slang of ours," adds Eugene Awyong, guitarist of the band. "Just like Something Stoo!". Here, the band exchange furtive glances before breaking into laughter, while remaining cryptic about the reference to their naming rituals for the tracks.
And what a debut demo it is. Wild headbanging numbers such as What?! are contrasted and complemented by gorgeous melodic tunes such as Regrets and Rooftop. Such diversity of sound is certainly a refreshing change from the one-dimensional sound which some bands slump into.
"We all have slightly different music tastes," reasons bassist Tan Yean Loon, who is a big fan of Fugazi and Sick Of It All. The fourth man of the band, Chris Poon, mentions the Rollins Band, while Seah grins widely at the mention of Matthew Sweet and Tori Amos.
So how do they feel about local music and bands in general? "A lot of local bands are too image-conscious," Seah thinks. "It is like, their music follows their image instead of being the other way round."
Still, gigs are definitely on Unde_Raged's agenda, and the band is looking forward to playing more gigs. They have plans to release a new demo soon, and reveal that their second self-released demo will be "less heavy." Hopefully, the four-leaf clovers featured on the cover of "Is Us" would bring the talented quartet luck. - Melissa Lim/Picture by Donovan
Reviews
UNDE_RAGED Is Us! (UX Productions)
(demo)
Firstly, this doesn't sound like Nirvana nor Smashing Pumpkins. A good thing. It doesn't sound like Britpop either. An even better thing. The best thing, however, is that Unde_Raged do not try to sound like anybody. This young local quarter's influences are hard to pin-point. Their songs have the quirkiness of The Dead Milkmen and The Flaming Lips and the intensity of Superchunk and Hum. The songs are damned melodic too. The demo starts off with a blast on What! The vocals recall The Dead Milkmen, very irreverent and wonderfully monotonous. Untitled is riff-o-mania! The headbanging riff is absolutely groovy and I simply love the slacker-style vocals and harmony ala Meat Puppets.
Unde_Raged's songwriting shows a lot of potential on tracks like Something Stoo! and my favourite, Rooftop. The latter's got a killer chorus that Humpback Oak would kill for. Recorded at Boss Studio, the production is a cut above most local indie releases. Unde_Raged are the best thing since Livonia and I'm not exaggerating. My faith in local music is restored.
- Patrick Chng (June BigO)
The demo tape 'Unde_Raged Is Us' is available at Roxy Records at Funan Center, Coast2Coast at Roxy Square, MYX Studios at Serangoon Rd, TNT Studios, The Musical Shop at Far East Plaza. Tapes are priced at $5 each. You can also order the demo tape from SUBstore while stocks last.
