Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You

Another killrockstars release, Unwound's Leaves Turn Inside You came out in 2001 and is the band's 10th and final full album. I'm just now digging into the Olympia, Washington band's earlier work and am liking what I've heard so far, though I can see how some of the fans of their earlier material could have trouble accepting the progress and changes made by the time of this final record. I first heard about Unwound through a nice writeup/review at Time Isn't on My Side blog. It grew on me slowly, taking a few listens and attempts, though the second song, "Look a Ghost" is a very infectious, as in it infects your auditory channels and the wonderful tune just stays there promoting an overall sense of well being, well for me anyways.


Unwound - "Look a Ghost"

The way the vocals are delivered in beat with the chord progressions immediately stands out and adds to the "hook" of this song. The instrumental breaks, appearing towards the end of the song, offer variations off the main line of the song, and work to intensify the return back to the main chords. I really like the steady drums that do a good job of staying out of the way and highlighting the chord changes (which also adds to the intensity and "tightness" of the performance).


Unwound - "Demons Sing Love Songs"

"Demons Sing Love Songs" runs a core tune throughout, rising into the chorus parts, and adding a variety of layers (not necessarily on top of each other) to spice things up a bit. Percussion is steady but also changes in regards to use of percussive instrument at times during the song, all the while hammering home another great catchy guitar and rhythm creation. The vocals are softer than those on "Look a Ghost", and I really like the chorus lyrics as they fit into the feeling evoked musically.

when i left my island i was wrong
met a phantom, memorized a song
nothing happens now that i belong

love's a demon, love's a demon, love's a demon, love
love's a demon, love's a demon, love's a demon, lo-o-ove

I'm pressed to include a third song to demonstrate a bit better, the creativity of Unwound on this album. "Terminus" demonstrates as good as any song here what is going on in the deeper levels of the band's songwriting.


Unwound - "Terminus"

The song really breaks down into three parts, the first part, more traditional in its form and sound. A bit harder and direct than the previous two songs reviewed above. Alone this would be a good song, but then about three and a half minutes into the song begins the second part, a build of guitar plucking, and unrelenting percussion. This builds and plateaus, drops, and starts again. The transition into the third part, is eerie and screeching, almost as if its being played to represent a dense fog....then....a beautiful piece closes the song, raising out above the previous two parts.

You can hear the later Sonic Youth influence in Unwound's music, but its as if Unwound took it a few steps further on this album, maybe many steps further. Some of the songs can be quite long (two of them sit around the ten minute mark), but they are never dull. The album can be complex at times, but never overly so, and a great balance is struck with good songwriting along solid musicianship. The vocals remain diverse throughout, and the use of effects during recording help to achieve an overall individualistic result. Highly recommended. As I delve into their earlier releases I'll likely post on them as well.