Review Summary: Unsane in the membrane
Unsane are a group that live up to all of the grammatically incorrect glory their name implies. The brutishly noisy New York trio have displayed wanton aggression, filth and fury throughout a career just shy of a quarter century.
Wreck, their seventh full-length effort, is pretty much everything you would come to expect from an Unsane record. From the get go, it’s an uncompromising aural assault. “Rat” informs the listener that there is ‘no way back’. Even at this early stage you cannot fault their accuracy.
The record’s best track comes early. “Decay” is a song that stretches itself across the full emotional spectrum. First, the inherent anger in the music. Second, the menacing snarl of the vocal delivery that covers up the fragility evident in the lyrics. ‘Look at the *** we’re in’ barks vocalist Chris Spencer, the pent-up regret looming large before giving way to a titanic riff that cuts right through you. It might well rank as one of the best of their career.
Normal service is resumed immediately and it remains at that satisfying level throughout. “No Chance” attacks with a certain swagger and frankly, it doesn’t deviate much from there on in. Don’t construe that as a negative point exactly, with a group like Unsane you know what you’re in for. It’s a relentless, unforgiving but ultimately enjoyable attack.
Wreck’s final track is the unsettling and blackly playful “Ha Ha Ha” which is the kind of song you’d play maliciously at the funeral of somebody you never liked.
The album lives up to its name, the question is: are you part of the carnage or a bystander? Give it a try and see where you end up.
