NR Essentials #6: Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
 

 

Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
2001, Kill Rock Stars

Every time I spin LEAVES TURN (which is generally Autumn) I can't help but get into the same old 'what if' frame of mind. What if Unwound had NOT broken up? What if they had continued beyond LEAVES? Would they have potentially become my favorite band?

Probably not, but the potential was certainly there in 2001. To celebrate their 10 year anniversary as a band they dropped a double album that took its time to spread out and get fucking incredible.

From the first time I heard the opening drone of "We Invent You" there was a lump in my throat as I let the whole record(s) unfold before my ears. Here was a dischordant art punK band who suddenly made their own WHITE ALBUM (only the packaging was black). And dark it was. But also beautiful.

Listening now, I can't help but think that they must have FELT that the end was near. There was so much experimentation on LEAVES that it's as if they were just now getting around to trying everything they had always intended to try before it ended. The extra instruments. The wall of ghostly sound. It's really hard to put into words in a way. But "Demons Sing Love Songs" may just be one of the best songs ever written.

Yeah, great album of course.

Was going to eventually do a classic albums post on this myself, but it'd be redudant now!

Nah, not really, man. If our lists overlap, then whatever. The blurbs are still our own takes on 'em. And we'll get different comments accordingly no doubt.

This is one of those albums that I forget how amazing it is. I'm listening now,and it's like a blast of pure white light/white heat ripping thru my chest.

I agree with you that "Demons Sing Love Songs" is amazing. Maybe too good!

Also, I knew this album was going to be something special from the first moment I heard 2 straight minutes of feedback when I turned it on.

NO SHIT, man. I remember putting it on in the car coming home from the record store, and as I realized the drone wasnt stopping, I kept turning it up louder and louder and louder, and then that slow guitar motif started and I was like "FUCK. I'm going to hear this a million times again in my life."

whenever i listen to this, i realize how brilliant it is, and that its thier best, and still one of the best of this decade. but when it comes to unwound, i almost always put on 'fake trees' (fucking dragnalus is such a good opening track) or 'new plastic ideas'. ill put this on now though.

great shit man!

nothing to do with the record but here's an interview that tobi vail and kathi wilcox did with unwound for jigsaw youth back in 92.

http://www.bumpidee.com/unwndinterview.html

This is such a wonderful and unique record, probably in my all time top 20 albums.

I would also rate Challenge For A Civilized Society and Repetition up there.

In fact they're one of those bands who have at least three songs on every album they've released that I loved. So I suppose that is enough to say they are one of my favorite bands.

i lurv Unwound
but this is possibly their worst record.

Here is my Top unwound

1) Fake train
2) New plastic ideas
3) Repetition
4) The future of what
5) Challenge
6) s/t
7) Leaves
which is a good double LP in itself, but should really have been a more consistent LP.

I absolutely worship the"FURTHER LISTENING " comp. it's the best mix Cd ever and i discovered them through that one
AND the single history 91/§97 is also pure noisy bliss

extremely talented band
love the fat bass
and the jangly gtr and how that gtr sounds "double tracked" often it's great.

yay for unwound
whatever happened to them

I suppose everybody knows that VERn (Unwound bass player) played bass on the whole Blonde Redhead LP "Fake is just as good". Amazing.... yesssss

what?! noooooooooooooo

challenge is their "worst"

greedrex, in fairness it really is a single if you think about it. The songs fit on one CD. It's only on 2 to fit the videos and to mimic the vinyl.

Also, how the hell is it their worst? I can understand saying like CHALLENGE or FAKE TRAIN or REPETITION are their best, because they all come close. But LEAVES is insane. Not their worst by a long shot.

ok
Unwound are a band i really LOOOVE
so saying "their worst" Lp is Leaves doesn't exactly encapsulate my feelings 100%.
It's THE ONE I LIKE AND LISTEN TO THE LEAST.
which in no way means it's bad (at all)
i just prefer ANY other LP from Unwound at this point.
i find this LP uninspired in terms of riffs, ideas, stamina, energy.
It's more subtle than any of their other releases which is good in itself but then i don't think subtelty really fits i like in Unwound i.e subdued rage.
once again , my own opinion, i don't have the monopoly of good taste.

actually i'm gonna spin this mofo just right now and will come back a little later to tell you how it felt.
he he

Now I understand completely. That's how I am with SY. I mean, the album I like the least by them, I probably still like more than most other bands' "favorite" album. Y'know?

Yes i know.
and I know that you know that we KNOW.

hahaha, right.

die kreuzen is amazing

Has anyone else heard Sonic Boom's remix of "Demons Sing Love Songs?" It's pretty awesome. I have it (somewhere) on an old Matador promo comp called DRAW ME A RIOT which was a lot of remixes and rarities and stuff.

ooooh ye. love that album and listened to it yesterday, while it was raining like hell. perfect. the only flaw its a littel too long I think

Yes, I got that promo too. I agree that the remix is excellent. Completly different from the original, but equally good and addictive

BEST FUCKING ALBUM EVER.

Seriously changed my life, seriously.

woah. thanks for the link NR! this album is in my top 20 records ever. so dark, dense and melodic. i luv the incendiary 'Scarlette', i still think it was written for me just they put an 'e' on the end to confuse people. ;)

Where can I get it? I've been wanting to listen to it for months to see if I like it...

great fuckin album

The video for "Scarlette" is awesome.

http://www.endsound.com/drowningboy/Scarlette.swf

i know, right?! luv it. luv them.

Yes. This is one of the most awesome albums.

Come on. You know full well that while Die Kreuzen may have once been quite good they were never 'amazing'. Once we start describing Die Kreuzen as amazing then where does that leave all the other thousands of bands that were a thousand times better than them?

Leaves Turn Inside You is indeed an amazing album, but I'm not really a fan of the muffled production - the drums sound like wet cardboard boxes to my (admittedly half-deaf) ears. I find myself spinning New Plastic Ideas and The Future Of What a lot more.

I like the production A LOT. It was produced my them, in their own new studio.

Meh to leaves
It's all about Fake Train and Future of What

meh nothing.

There's really no bad Unwound album.

Yeah but leaves always used to bore me. I'd be like "alright, I'll give it a go" and then end up just putting on another album by then and being like "yeah this is fuckin' rad"

I'll give it a go once I actually feel like listening to music with guitars again.

I really can't understand using "boring" to describe this album for one moment.

Yeah I know, and I listen to a lot of music that people would consider boring, but that's the reaction I have when I listen to it nevertheless.

weird.

My first Unwound record, still holds a special place in my heart. Glorious album. The production is perfect.

I'll give both discs a spin later.

~Jeremy~

I love the fucking thing so much.

Fake Train is my fave but leaves is perfect ending to a great fucking band

exactly, Rob. Exactly.