The Underhill Family Orchestra at the Bowery Electric

Guitarist Steven Laney and vocalist Joelle Rosen conceived of the Americana-rocking Underhill Family Orchestra in 2010 in Mobile, Alabama. Underhill was a name in Laney's family tree, Family because that is what they hoped to build with both the other musicians and their audience, and Orchestra because at one time they had about 10 members in the band. Early on, the rapidly-changing lineup recorded two albums, but recently scrapped all of these early recordings and even the band's history from the internet so as to reconstruct a new identity with the release of the Tell Me That You Love Me album on May 4, 2018. The band’s roster presently consists of Laney, Rosen,  guitarist/mandolin player Ben Cook, bassist Joe Grove, and drummer Roy Durand.

Backstage at the Bowery Electric tonight, the band members as usual painted white stripes on their faces as a sign of solidarity. Onstage, this solidarity was articulated musically by Appalachian-styled four- and five-part harmony. The band performed a raucous set of uptempo stomp-and-holler folk tunes that sounded like they originated on a familial, rural back porch or in a barn. While not at all sounding old-timey, the performance had an organic, roots-infused grit that captured the essence of America's heartland. Big, soulful vocal arrangements and bombastic drums then turned many of these songs into anthem-like arena-rockers. Presumably, once the band gains a New York following, we shall see many in the local audience joining the family and painting white stripes on their faces.

Visit the Underhill Family Orchestra at www.WeAreUnderhill.com.