David Steele – Underneath the Ice / 2004 City Canyons / 12 Tracks / http://www.random-minds.com / [email protected] / Reviewed 18 December 2004

Coming through with the same sort of singer-with-an-acoustic vibe that surrounds many of the frat rockers, David moves beyond that an adds another dimension to eir music. Starting off “Underneath the Ice” with the emotive and soulful “Wings to Fly”, each instrument provides a presence that simply is not found on many of the aforementioned type of frat-rockers. Continuing the non-offensive rock parade with the second track, “Disappear” shows no lack of ability. Bringing “Bethlehem” into a Stephen Curtis Chapman-style of inoffensive Christian rock. Opening out in a Spartan way with a twinkling piano, “Ghost” is almost brutally slow in its length – slightly under for minutes, even the Pink Floyd-progressive style of rock achieved at times make the track almost painful. In fact, the entirety of “Underneath the Ice” is full of these half-cooked guitar licks and arbitrary sprinkles of different instruments, and while they do form their own distinct sound, there is no virtuosity or passion behind the majority of tracks on the disc.

“Hypnotised” is the perfect example of David’s vocal limitations, as the guitar licks provide souring peaks and low valleys, but David is just able to modify eir voice enough to make the track soar. The title track has David in much better straits – the bass and guitar lines are suited to eir voice instead of eir struggling to work alongside the instruments. The subtle use of a violin during the aforementioned track, being a common thread through the track instead of just randomly thrown in, shows a side of David’s arrangement that is not to be found through most of “Underneath the Ice”. Mixing in influences that largely ground themselves in the 1980’s (Bryan Adams, Mr. Mister), David Steele produces music that will largely be most appreciated by individuals that are from that era, instead of incorporating flashes of current culture to reach a larger audience.

David is talented at what eir does, but there is a lack of dynamism to “Underneath the Ice” which places every track on the disc into the same limitations, providing a close-grouped scattershot that leaves some people cold. If there were different general sounds approached during the CD, the resulting chaos would provide a needed pick-me-up to what is a very droll disc at times. For those individuals that grew up with Adams and U2, this is probably a much more solid album than I’m giving David credit for – the lack of imagination, though, that is to be found on “Underneath the Ice” will turn people off, regardless of musical taste.

Top Tracks: Rolling Rive, Underneath the Ice

Rating: 5.1/10