The Almost - Southern Weather

Genre rock Publisher Tooth & Nail Records External Links Official The Almost Website Official Tooth & Nail Records Website

When listening to Southern Weather unless a listener already knew, it would be nearly impossible to figure out that the vocalist and songwriter for The Almost is Aaron Gillespie, better known for his hardcore persona as a member of Underoath. Unlike some artists that begin side projects, Gillespie saw The Almost as an opportunity to write music completely unlike that which Underoath writes and performs. Although the sound and style of the songs on Southern Weather are polar opposites from Gillespie's other work, the Christian orientation remains.

The disc's title track is a particularly good song and it is a bit of a shame that it comes relatively late on the album. It might have been a better idea to have such a strong song closer to the start, however, that doesn't eliminate the fact that Gillespie clearly displays his ability for writing good harmonies and catchy choruses. Underoath fans will likely find this too pop-oriented, but the song is one of the best out of all eleven tracks.

"Amazing Because It Is" is a song some listeners will want to hate, but if given enough of a chance, the song just might change one's mind. Lines pulled from the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the use of a children's choir would typically be enough to make many listeners cringe, especially if they expect The Almost to sound like Underoath. However, Gillespie proves himself to be a talented enough songwriter that, despite these two potential strikes against the song, he pulls it off.

Southern Weather has been categorized by some as nothing more than another emo album, but this is too simplistic a classification. Gillespie does have some such moments on the album, but these are balanced by songs like "Call Back When I'm Honest" and "Say This Sooner" which pull in some of the Underoath influence. There are occasional tracks that even the emo fans will find too sentimental, but in general Gillespie proves that he is more than a one-trick pony.