Southern Weatheris a dynamic, melodic and sincere album,  which is a testament to Gillespie's love of bands like Jimmy Eat World and  the Foo Fighters. For all of its driving, contemporary rock, Southern  Weather also features plenty of acoustic guitar, keyboards, strings, horns  and even a choir. Opener (and first single) "Say This Sooner" begins,  appropriately, with Gillespie's up-and-at-'em drumming introducing great  slabs of guitar, which make way for acoustic strumming and introspective  verse vocals before building into a true anthem of a chorus. While full of  robust, tuneful and heartfelt rock songs,Southern Weatheralso  throws its share of sonic curve balls: the countrified "Dirty And Left Out"  is a lamenting, slide-guitar smeared confessional that would be equally at  home on some lonely roadhouse jukebox as on an obviously very personal,  man-and-his-guitar track, but soon a horn chimes in, and then the tune  unexpectedly blooms into a choir-augmented steamroller with a relentless  backbeat. --Metal EdgeAlthough Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie cites Dave Grohl as the  drummer-turned-frontman inspiration for his brazenly unscreamo project The  Almost, musically it has far more in common with late-'90s emo acts like  Jimmy Eat World and Sense Field. Although Gillespie's croon is still  distinctive, the 11 driving tracks onSouthern Weather--on which he  played nearly every note--allow him to stretch and sing his heart out  alongside gospel choruses ("Amazing, Because It Is") and melodic rock riffs  ("Everyone Here Smells Like A Rat") with equal aplomb.  However, the  highlight ofSouthern Weatheris "Dirty And Left Out," a  confessional--and decidedly non-secular--duet with former Sunny Day Real  Estate frontman Jeremy Enigk that's chilling enough to give goose bumps to  even the most stringent non-believers. --Alternative PressAsk Underoath drummer/singer Aaron Gillespie about his biggest  influence and he'll tell you in a heartbeat: Dave Grohl is the man. No  surprise then, that in his new side project The Almost, Gillespie has set  aside Underoath's ferocious post-hardcore for an arena-worthy alt-rock  sound that's understandably drawing him comparisons to the Foo Fighter's  honcho and ex Nirvana skinsman. ...Their frontman's trademark modesty  aside, The Almost's debut,Southern Weather, gives Gillespie's  musical hero a run for his money. From the monster power chords and dynamic  fireworks of the first single "Say This Sooner" to the gentle acoustic  melancholia of "Dirty And Left Out" (featuring ex Sunny Day Real Estate  singer Jeremy Enigk on guest vocals), Gillespie has nailed the Foo Fighters  formula as much as he's expanded on it. --Revolver