Since their last album 1996' Villains (you might remember their somewhat forgettable single "Freshman") I'd all but given up on these guys. I figured they broke up after being upstaged by The Verve's Urban Hymns--but as The Verve is now history, The Verve Pipe is back and their new album Underneath (five years in the making) is going to impress alot of people. With such a long stretch between albums, I assumed they'd released an album that tanked so badly that I didn't even hear about it and they'd gone quietly down the pipes. As good as Underneath is, perhaps more bands should consider waiting half a decade between albums. Chief Piper Brian Vander Ark spent some of this lay-off time, starring in the new movie Rockstar, and collaborating with XTC's Andy Partridge and you can definitely detect the influence of the prolific Brit on many of the truly terrific tunes on Underneath. The most amazing thing about this new effort is how much it sounds like The Catherine Wheel, although much better produced and not quite as angry, I would have said it was CW if someone would have played me a cut and asked me to guess who it was. He also bears an obvious resemblance to Peter Gabriel--the third track, "I Want All of You," sounds like an homage to "Sledgehammer." Very good stuff, look for it toward the end of September.