Repetition

Unwound

Unwound I feel is one of those hidden gem bands that unfortunately was overshadowed by the booming grunge and alternative rock scene in the 90s. While all that stuff was hitting the mainstream, Unwound seemed to occupy this unique space of their own; fostered by a strong D.I.Y. work ethic and an unwillingness to compromise to those mainstream appeals. I certainly wasn't aware of them for quite awhile despite my affinity for many artists on the Kill Rock Stars label. That is until the good folks at Numero Group unearthed and reissued the band's catalogue across four fancy boxsets. The trailer for the third boxset, which I was thankful to stumble upon at the time of its release, introduced me to soaring tremolo guitar leads, driving bass, powerful drumming with a fantastic tone, and Justin Trosper's distorted, high pitched yells. That song I heard was For Your Entertainment, the final track off the band's 1996 album Repetition. Hearing that minute long supercut of the song was like finally finding that thing I was searching so long for, and I knew I had to explore more.

Even though I am now in possession of all four of those boxsets, Repetition was the album I gravitated to the most, naturally because of the impression the incredible closer made on me. The more I dug into this record though, I became quite surprised at the amount of musical lanes this album embarks on while keeping the production modest and tight. There's the dub inspired Sensible that centres around a really tight rhythm section and has fleeting moments of ghostly organs, guitars flying like airplanes overhead, and vibraphone. There's a real no wave disturbance in the form of the appropriately titled Fingernails On a Chalkboard. This track is truly unsettling with the militant and repetitive drum groove which lays the foundation for tons of jarring guitar noise. The opener, Message Received also holds a lot of no wave energy as the verses feature wailing, sour guitars, and relentless screams from Justin Trosper. The song's only moment of serenity is in the chorus, in which Trosper rings out these angular, yet oddly melodic broken chords. The instrumental Go to Dallas and Take a Left is another standout for me. I love how this track gradually becomes faster and faster. The masterful Sara Lund transitions so fluently from half-time to double-time and beyond. Then there's also the free jazz freakout that consumes the track just over the halfway mark.

I could sing Sara Lund's praises all day as I think she is one of the most underrated drummers in rock, but the truth is, Unwound doesn't have a weak bone in it's body. Vern Rumsey delivers incredible basslines on Murder Movies and Unauthorized Autobiographies; the type of dramatic action you could picture scoring a Pierce Brosnan era Bond film. Both Trosper and Rumsey deliver great riffs on Corpse Pose where if you squint, you can hear a hint of swagger in their performances. Then of course there's Trosper's voice which greatly controls the band's dynamic by either performing with an apathetic malaise or unleashing his high-pitched shrieks.

Repetition is a punk and post-hardcore classic. There are few records I can think of that achieve creating this uncomfortable air without diving too far into the extreme or pushing the volume. In fact, as I said before, the record is tightly produced and relies more on gritty guitar tones and hyper angular riffs to really knock you off balance. And while that may sound off-putting, Sara Lund and Vern Rumsey make for such a fantastic rhythm section that things never seem to go overboard, unless they decide together to take the plunge. I will admit that I've been slacking getting into the rest of the band's catalogue, but let this be the beginning of my resolution to fully dive in to Unwound's discography this year. I hope that you will do the same as well.