Noisentry - Unwound

Unwound were like Nirvana minus the pop, Sonic Youth minus the art gallery, and Fugazi minus the slogans. The nineties rock idiom as a howling existential abyss – Adam Grimord-Isham

As one of the heaviest bands in indie rock, Tumwater/ Olympia, WA trio Unwound were a practicioners of what All Music Guide called “indie-grindcore” – the band took roughness of Fugazi and some of the more rocking moments of Sonic Youth and multiplied it by 10. The resulting concoction was nothing short of an aural sledghehammer, pounding stereo speakers everywhere into dust. Eventually, they also developed considerable melodic sensibilities, but still remained true to their own vision of rock’n’roll.

Originally known as Giant Henry, the band initially included guitarist/vocalist Justin Trosper, bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Brandt Sandeno (who was replaced by Sara Lund in 1992).

R-1040699-1187132150 — Unwound 7″ – 1992

They started out by releasing untitled 8-song demo in 1991, with two of the tracks from demo ending up on 1999 compilation “A Single History: 1991-1997”. After releasing few singles on labels such as Gravity and Kill Rock Stars, Unwound produced their debut LP “Fake Train” in 1993.

One part of the album that stands out immediately is its cover, which shows a mutilated cover of another album – that of 1970 “Tom” LP by Tom Jones. The album was recorded with producer Steve Fisk at the helm in just two weeks and, according to Trouser Press, the album “boasts a formidable dynamic range” containing anything from meditative instrumental “Were, Are And Was Or Is” to noisier tracks like “Nervous Energy”.

1994 “New Plastic Ideas”, saw the band “branching out into propulsive odd meters, a vastly bigger sound and even more traumatic contrasts between loud and soft, pulling the arty riffage into much tighter focus.”, according to TP. The record was also a bit more melodic, but also featured plenty of dissonance / distortion.

R-1024032-1194230273 — Repetition – 1996

1995 saw the re-release of the band’s debut recorded in 1992, as well as a new album called “The Future Of What”. The rest of the decade saw them releasing two more albums – 1996 “Repetition” (“a sharp kick in the head that clears out the cobwebs and stimulates the imagination”, according to TP). and 1998 “Challenge For A Civilized Society” (a combination of “carefully wielded aggression” and “barbed wire pop songs”, according to TP). They called it quits after 2001 “Leaves Turn Inside You”.

Outside of Unwound, other projects that the band members were involved in include Replikants (not to confuse with Replicants, the banf that included members of Medicine, Tool and Failure) and Long Hind Legs, who released records on Kill Rock Stars and Punk In My Vitamins, label run by Vern Rumsey.

Band Members:

Brandt Sandeno (Replikants, Young Ginns)

Justin Trosper (Replikants, Young Ginns)

Sara Lund (Belgian Waffles, Witchypoo)

Vern Rumsey (Blonde Redhead, Fitz Of Depression, Long Hind Legs, Witchypoo)

Discography:

Caterpillar 7″ (Kill Rock Stars, 1991)

Unwound 7″ (Gravity, 1992)

Fake Train CD / LP (Kill Rock Stars, 1993)

Kandy Korn Rituals + 2 7″ (Kill Rock Stars, 1993)

MK Ultra / Totality 7″ (Kill Rock Stars, 1994)

Negated / Said Serial 7″ (Troubleman Unlimited, 1994)