Review Summary: Far from sterilized
I take a sort of strange pleasure in knowing Unsane are still doing what they’ve been doing for their whole (going on 30 years) career. After all, they’re good at it;
Sterilize is another blood spattered, riff wielding, cop-kicking-romp through noise rock-cum-hardcore, just like the rest of Unsane’s discography, and yet it still feels somewhat fresh. I don’t know why this is - maybe it’s just because they’ve been perfecting their sound over the years - because
Sterilize really is just typical Unsane. The bass and drums create a sort of fuzzed out rumbling backdrop for the caustic vocals and sharp guitars to cut through, the lyrics are misanthropic and desperately bleak and all the songs fall somewhere around the 3-4 minute mark, with a couple of exceptions. The downside of this is that, while the album is incredibly consistent, there are very few standout moments. Distance can perhaps be touted as something distinctly new, what with the chorus relying on an almost cleanly shouted, elongated bellow - but then again, I haven’t heard their whole discography, so maybe that isn’t too new either. Regardless,
Sterilize is far from sterilized Unsane – they’re just as scuzzy and loud and filled to the brim with southern ear-hooking licks as ever, so if you like Unsane…… check out the new Unsane album?
