Review Summary: Unsane create a decent, if somewhat boring album with a few really good tunes
This is considered by many to be the most famous Unsane album. It spawned MTV mega hit
Scrape(Remember the one with the skateboard accidents?) and it landed Unsane tours with Slayer and Neurosis. The album sold pretty well despite lineup changes. At this point Unsane consisted of
Chris Spencer-vocals/guitar/harmonica
David Curran-bass/vocals
Vinnie Signorelli-drums
While Scattered, Smothered & Covered may not be as good of an effort as past albums, it still manages to work effectively. The songs are more based in hardcore punk than noise rock this time around yet it still manages to have moments of the beloved noise of their earlier years. The vocals are a lot less distorted on the album, but they're still aggressive,howling and ear piercing. The guitar playing has gotten bluesier than past albums and it works well here.
Alleged in particular has a major blues influence in that it features a harmonica intro and a very bluesy guitar solo at the end. The bass and drums do their thing too but seem pretty average here compared to the guitar playing on Scattered. They serve their purpose and don't add or subtract to the music.
The best tunes on the album are the aforementioned Scrape and Alleged, as well as the angry and noisy
Empty Cartridge and the slow, grinding
Swim and the heavy yet catchy
Blew. These tunes make the album worth buying as well as a couple other songs. The hardcore punk sound could be considered an evolution but it doesn't work all that well for a whole album of a band like this.
The main problem is that for the most part, the songwriting is painfully boring.Many of the riffs are either bland or serviceable and detract from the quality of what the album could've been. It seems like Unsane were a bit lazy with this effort. Also, the hardcore punk sound, while sounding better in later albums, just doesn't really work here.
Best songs:
Blew
Scrape
Alleged
Empty Cartridge
Swim
bad songs:
get off my back
no loss
ruin
Scrape
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dy7Cg36qfY
Alleged
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqF1nyjCU8M&feature=fvw
