Atombombpocketknife - Alpha Sounds
(Southern)
Why the hell won't Unwound release a new record? 1998 seems like ages ago.
Well, until they get off their asses and record something, perhaps
Chicago's Atombombpocketknife will suffice. Atombombpocketknife channel
Unwound's spirits pretty effectively. On their full length debut, Alpha
Sounds, the band tries to vary the formula a little bit, calming down the songs
significantly on tracks like "Conceit Needs Concentration" or offering a
feedback dronescape like "Slide," but they are at their best when they simply
follow Unwound's post-punk lead, at times sounding a little more like Sonic
Youth and at other times sounding a little more like Brainiac's first album,
but still sounding somewhat Unwound.
No band is original though, so who cares? The music is well done, and, frankly,
this is one of the best rock records I have heard in quite a while.
Well, the band wants to call their music "unrock," as in they are
deconstructing the overused and abused foundations of rock music, but
whatever; they are a rock band. The songs are well written and executed,
changing time signatures at will, using explosive guitars ("explode again" could
very well be a metaphor of how the guitars enter the mix on that song),
and using well executed grisly, paranoid choruses
(like "congratulations you're back from the dead" on "ahh ritalin,"
"stabbing right in the back right in the back" on "the unofficial guide
to backstabbing, and
"it's time to explode again like a seismic rash" on "explode again"),
The mix is well-done as well, making the album well-suited to headphone use,
as instruments move from ear to ear and vary in volume on each channel, all
done to improve the effect of the music, not cause migraines.
So let's say goodbye to albums with covers featuring windows and doors of
suburban homes on them; we need a little bit more balls of fire and attack
helicopters, as long as it is as well done as Alpha Sounds.
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