by Joe ViglioneMarilyn Manson was really up to something, concocting a formula that combined the sounds of Kurt Cobain with the Love It to Death/Killer phase of Alice Cooper. God Lives Underwater understand that and work the concept to good effect though they don't take many of the interesting ideas presented on Up off the Floor as far as the potential demands. Modern techno colliding with grunge is what toys with the high end of your speakers on tunes like "1% (The Long Way Down)" and "Slip to Fall" -- the trance taking hold the louder one turns up the latter tune. "The king of insensitivity" in "History" advises you to put your "thick skin on" -- which seems like the ultimate excuse in a dysfunctional relationship. John Lennon's notion of slipping his other song titles into the lyric of another song is picked up here, the word "positivity" seeming to be a favorite. This music picks up where Spitfire artist OhGr left off, another band that had interaction with producer Rick Rubin at some point in their career. The ten tunes are written by the duo with some collaboration on "White Noise" and "72 Hour Hold," and though they are on the right track, some great riffs get lost in the production (or lack thereof). The late Jimmy Miller could turn a waterfall of noise into a defined party as he did with the Rolling Stones' "Tumblin' Dice." Over 30 years after that condensed explosion, musicians seem to have lost the art of putting all their anger and message into a vacuum-tight package which pops out of the radio with authority. "No Way (You Must Understand)" has an interesting enough riff but it is a road in need of a destination. "72 Hour Hold" works better as the plodding rhythm oozes between the haunting decadence and lost vocals. Jeff Turzo and David Reilly inject more eeriness into "Miss You More Than Anything" while closing track "Positivity" has that ominous Black Sabbath buzz helping the pair continue to unleash its nonstop train-wreck audio barrage.