Aaron Gillespie, a person foreign to most, is one of the biggest heavyweights in the hardcore/screamo scene. As the drummer and melodic singer (as opposed to screamer Spencer Chamberlain) of the band Underoath, he makes the band accessible to a larger audience with his catchy choruses and pounding beats.
With Underoath taking a break over the winter of 2006, Gillespie hit the studio alone in order to record the first CD of his solo side project, The Almost, a much more pop-friendly band with scream-free material. The album, entitled "Southern Weather," is entirely written and performed by Gillespie and displays a surprising amount of pop sensibility, while still maintaining a very respectable rock feel.
The first single as well as the first track off the album, "Say This Sooner," begins with a shuffling snare pattern and Gillespie's ever-so-soft croons claiming that he'll "never be quite normal ... never get out alive." But the song is not an emo-anthem of loneliness, but rather a declaration of self-worth and the importance of, god forbid, being happy with yourself.
The subject matter of "Say This Sooner," as well as many other tracks on the album, is steeped in religion. Though Gillespie is a dedicated Christian, he doesn't reach the preachy "holier-than-thou" point of view that so many of today's Christian hardcore bands fall victim to.
The second cut, "Drive There Now," is a bland rock song at first listen, but truly grows on the listener the second and third times through the album. Even on the second track, there is a distinct air of pretension in the music that cannot be completely overlooked. Whether it is the self-referential song matter or the tone of Gillespie's voice, one definitely gets the feeling that this guy thinks he is really great.
The lyrics from the chorus of "Drive There Now" are also somewhat recycled, with Gillespie singing (if his yelps can be called as such) "I love the way that we laugh until we cry/ dance until we die."
Gillespie also includes his own name in the lyrics, which at first seems totally admissible, but for some reason when he says, "Aaron get ready for this," it seems so much more patronizing than when John Mayer does the same.
The songwriting in the tracks "Southern Weather" and "I Mostly Copy Other People" exposes Gillespie's inexperience at putting together choruses, verses and bridges and making them form a coherent whole.
Like almost every other song on the album, these two tracks begin with the guitar riff, and then add drums before breaking into the verse, a formula that is too simple for even the likes of Blink-182.
Gillespie's lack of vocal training also begins to wear away at the listener after 10 minutes, as his strained reaches for the high notes cross the line from endearing to cloying. Judging by the tone of his voice on the record, one would be hesitant to assume that Gillespie could nail even half of his vocal lines live.
The album is not entirely without its high points, though, such as the soft ballad "Amazing Because It Is," a song most certainly about religion, though not explicitly. The chorus of the piece is actually "Amazing Grace," the classic hymn, a notion that sounds very odd at first, but Gillespie makes it work extremely well in the context of the song. The use of an orchestra also does much to flesh out the song.
Aaron Gillespie obviously has a lot to learn. Being a singer/songwriter is no easy task, especially when making the transition from behind the drum kit to behind the mic. If Gillespie really wanted to make The Almost the best it could be, he would take time to listen to some Simon and Garfunkel and shell out the cash for a few vocal lessons in order to make his delivery more convincing. But let's cut the guy a break; he did do everything on the album himself.
