Unwound - New Plastic Ideas (Album Review)

 

Unwound - New Plastic Ideas

(1994)

My copy: 1994 press by Kill Rock Stars.

Unwound are unique in that they are probably the most consistent post-hardcore band to come out of the 1990s. They followed each of their LPs within minimal wait time, doubling down with new levels of density at each turn. New Plastic Ideas is no exception; coming just one year after their 1993 debut LP, the record tightens up the production and writing to offer a killer balance of brutal force and intelligent composition. 

“Entirely Different Matters” roars with an aggression and pace that shows Unwound are not beating around the bush. The guitar wheezes and twists around addicting bass melodies, while Sara Lund’s percussion serves as a rhythmic glue. Justin Trosper’s renewed rage carries into the stilted blasts of “What Was Wound” where the shouting vocals fall perfectly in line with a quickened pace. The intro to “Envelope” is a furious miasma of dissonant riffs until the track opens up to Trosper’s demented idea of romanticism - the vocals are at their catchiest here as they dance in between bursts of guitar noise. Their pop sensibilities have been refined here, leaving behind some of the creative but unnecessary fluff that was present on Fake Train. Even when Unwound plays to imbed a melody in your mind, it is still almost always dissonant and moody. 

“Hexenzsene” is an impressive cascade of mysterious chords with a more subdued set of vocal melodies. The song works itself into knots before exploding with its reserve of stored energy, shattering into one of their noisiest outros. The paranoid aura filters deeper into “Abstraktions:” a longer instrumental track where Vern Rumsey’s bass playing shines most. One of Lund’s best drum grooves kicks off the blistering triumph of “All Souls Day” which careens abruptly into silence. “Usual Dosage” relishes in an extended bridge that strips the album down into gloomy repetition before igniting into another powerful chorus. 

While “Arboretum” begins dark and ends with reflective harmonics, “Fiction Friction” starts sweet only to sour with sharp piercing rhythmic chords halfway through. Though we lose some of the more experimental flair that the band found by trodding off the beaten path on Fake Train, the more bombastic production and elaborate songwriting on New Plastic Ideas helps it to stand out from its older sibling.

Unwound’s devotion to a very specific atmosphere is what makes them so engaging; or rather, it is that they can commit to this atmosphere without the songs blending together into a mess. Trosper’s despondent cries, Rumsey’s intricate bass melodies and Lund’s clever fills all weave a very specific tale of adolescent emotional desolation - one that outshines every other band in their class.