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| Johnny ranks Unwound: ALL SONGS
So, following a discog binge (full-lengths only) and a lot of note taking, here's the full lowdown. Please disagree with and discuss this as much as possible - I'll upload in chunks to get some of the ol' Suspense going ;] | | 80 |  | Unwound
The Future of What
Full Explanation Of Answer
The Future of What's scathing closer Swan ends with around three minutes of well-earned feedback. Following these with five and a half minutes of further feedback is a decision that only makes sense for those particularly invested in the CD or vinyl experience. | | 79 |  | Unwound
Unwound
Antifreeze
Unwound’s self-titled kicks off with one of the most unadventurous punk tracks they’d ever belt out. It’s okay, I guess. Trosper sounds frayed here as per much of the album, the band’s flair for good dynamics doesn’t shine and Sara Lund’s absence is particularly evident. Eh. | | 78 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Vern's Answer to the Masses
Forty seconds of bass feedback, nice. This is a nothing song, but I appreciate it a good deal in sequencing; it works as a moment of respite in between two of the album's most blistering tracks, without dropping the sense of grit both whip up so well. Good interlude. | | 77 | | Unwound
Unwound
Prospect
Fuck me, Trosper abuses his guitar here. It’s strange that the s/t’s sole instrumental cut is also one of its hardest slammers, but there you go. This one is two and a half fun minutes of dissonant hammering and harmonic abuse. Too bad the mix is almost unlistenable. | | 76 | | Unwound
Unwound
Warmth
An unremarkable but reasonably fun hardcore track. The band *almost* kick up some momentum towards the end, but this one never takes off. | | 75 | | Unwound
Unwound
Kandy Korn Rituals
This is one of the most aggro things Unwound ever put to record, a deranged mess of ideas that might as well be titled Fifty Shades of Justin Trosper Losing His Shit. It seems to burn itself out before the two minute mark, only to evaporate into feedback and launch back with something uncharacteristically close to bombast. Silly in many ways, but fierce enough to be worth its salt. | | 74 |  | Unwound
Repetition
Sensible
Sometime between 1995 and 1996 Unwound realised they’d underestimated how much they loved Fugazi. That’s okay, it happens to all of us at some point. Unlike most of us, they then channelled this into recording a nifty dub instrumental. It’s very fine. | | 73 |  | Unwound
Fake Train
Star Spangled Hell
Ah, Fake Train’s derelict pace-killer. As far as Justin Trosper lurching around semi-aimlessly in midtempo goes, Star Spangled Hell is fine I guess. Taking a looser approach to structure feels like something that could have worked for this album, and the band definitely have the chemistry to pull it off…but somehow it doesn’t quite feel right here. | | 72 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Ratbite
A lategame punk cut from Fake Train, this one always felt a bit superfluous to me. Vern’s first bassline bops, but this one doesn’t land the punches it needs to and feels strangely overlong. | | 71 | | Unwound
Unwound
You Bite My Tongue
This track more or less rips, but it also feels like it could have come from any band. The dissonance and pacing are on point, but there’s very little that feels unique to them and, once again, Brandt Sandeno is no competition for Sara Lund. | | 70 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Gravity Slips
An adequate hardcore cut from Fake Train. A few fun thrills, but nothing special. | | 69 |  | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Meet the Plastics
One of Unwound’s greatest qualities is their knack for being clamorous without being irritating. Meet the Plastics is one of their rare tracks that really toes the line. It’s hideous and homogenous, frustratingly memorable but distinctly short of momentum and pacing. Justin Trosper is very talented at playing with noise stylings in innovative and exciting ways; this one is as close as he comes to navel gazing off the back of dissonance. | | 68 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Equally Stupid
Unwound make a dreary alternative track that plods and plods and plods and entirely warrants its name. It has one hook, and it’s horrendously catchy and finds itself continually developed over the course of the track. I hate it, but this gets it songwriting points.
(yeah, sorry JotS, this one kinda blows) | | 67 |  | Unwound
Further Listening
Miserific Condition
I’m generally ignoring non-album tracks for this, but my ex (a cool cookie) gave me a copy of Further Listening back in the day; this was my first window into pre-Challenge Unwound and although my memory of it is a little blurry, it stuck with me enough that I went over its niche cuts and threw them in. Miserific Condition is good ol’ hardcore thrashing - not much more to it, but it’s gritty enough to have an edge on some similar outings in that department. | | 66 | | Unwound
Repetition
Fingernails on a Chalkboard
A five minute unpicking of one relatively cool riff. Repetition showcases some great instances of the band venturing into more expansive territory as they explore the possibilities of noise and melody. This is not one of them. | | 65 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
No Tech
A fun skit that packs next to no staying power. A little inane, but it breaks up Challenge’s tracklist nicely. | | 64 | | Unwound
Unwound
Kid Is Gone
This track has two things going for it: some fairly worthwhile Slint worship in the first thirty seconds and an unusually bright set of riffs. Beyond that it’s just another early-days hardcore cut, but this one is just about colourful enough to stand out as such. | | 63 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Here Come the Dogs
I think this was the first pre-Challenge Unwound song I ever heard; goodness knows what my expectations were for their early years. Hear Come The Dogs sees them making a slightly silly but undeniably engaging hardcore banger; it’ll never be a highlight (especially following so close to the blistering Petals Like Bricks), but it’s serviceable in sequencing. | | 62 | | Unwound
Repetition
Go To Dallas and Take a Left
This song is an anachronistic instrumental murdering of that shithouse Black Eyed Peas single I Gotta Feeling and I love it for this reason primarily. The band have a lot of fun here, and it’s sometimes fantastic and sometimes a little silly. | | 61 |  | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Look A Ghost
Unwound do airy psych rock very well throughout Leaves Turn Inside You, and while Look A Ghost is worthwhile as the most digestible cut from this style it’s never stuck with me nearly as much as the likes of October All Over or One Lick Less. It’s kind of catchy? It isn’t anything close to abrasive? It has distinct melodies and counter-melodies. Madness! This is an Unwound pop song, and I’m only half sold. | | 60 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Pardon My French
Yes, this is an interlude and its placement here is a bit of a meme BUT I have two reasons for low-key loving it: 1) a nostalgic synth organ loop being dropped in the middle of an Unwound album is a hilariously ballsy move and 2) I got into The Future of What through my CD copy while also getting into Bloodborne for the first time. The CD has an extended 14-min version of the loop at the end as a bonus track, and because I was hooked on the game I’d always let it play out, so it’s very much under my skin and embedded in my memories at this point. | | 59 | | Unwound
Unwound
Rising Blood
A tenacious punk stomper that shows off the s/t’s energy at its best. This is very much Trosper’s song; he dishes out one of his better performances on this album and forces his guitar into a variety of gritty tones, shredding through harmonics like no-one’s business. Not quite a highlight, but promising enough stuff. | | 58 | | Unwound
Unwound
Stuck in the Middle of Nowhere Again
Save for its *highly* tasty midway jam, this is just a pushy Sonic Youth track. However, that mid-section is full of Unwound’s trademark menace and makes for a huge highlight on the self-titled. Another good idea that would be wildly eclipsed here by its realisation on subsequent records. | | 57 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Pure Pain Sugar
This is a somewhat unfortunate song insofar as it represents a steep drop of quality from Fake Train’s astounding side-A but also a respectable highlight of it’s latter half. Vern carries this one; his tone gives the track’s somewhat silly throwdown the oomph it needs and defines most of its memorable moments. The title lyric is a slight step too far as angsty Unwound goes, but it just about carries itself. | | 56 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Re-Enact the Crime
This is probably the first instance of Unwound making a deliberately lethargic track and, eh, it’s okay. I appreciate this one for throwing a surprise change of tone after The Future of What’s scuzzy opening trio; I think I once saw it described as ‘acoustic’, which is hilarious but, relatively speaking, not the stupidest thing in the world. As a standalone track, it’s a bit limp. | | 55 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Data
Although I’ve been listening to it the longest of any Unwound besides Leaves, Challenge was probably the album I felt least sure of my opinions on, before revisiting it for this ranking. I had a positive but unspecific recollection of Data, and this seems about fair. It’s a decent opener, but feels like a B-grade reprisal of New Energy (ft. bassline and less energy) until things kick into gear for its momentous final minute. Good not great as Unwound openers go. | | 54 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Scarlette
Leaves…’ angsty flashpoint is a mixed bag. I have no issue with Trosper’s harsh vocals, but they blend hideously with this track’s psych stylings. However, songwriting is as strong as anything from this album, often coming off as a less pent-up version of December. It’s no highlight however, and feels a little close to disappointing compared to the phenomenal tracks either side of it. | | 53 | | Unwound
Further Listening
Hating in D
This one is a hot mess, but I dig it as a scathing long cut. The bridge here is some Usual Dosage-esque brooding discontent. Hearing this back to back with Swan at the end of Further Listening is not for the faint of heart. | | 52 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Who Cares
Um, ok, maybe this is an outro song with very little substance beyond a We Invent You reprise and headscratcher of a trumpet sample, but it’s such an unexpected and oddly satisfying closer that I give it points over Scarlette and Look A Ghost. Sorry, guys. | | 51 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Natural Disasters
While a little below The Future of What’s average bpm, I’d consider this a very middle of the road pick from that album. The songwriting is on point and those guitar tones are to die for, but this doesn’t have the knockout value of that album’s powerhouse tracks and it’s not quite engaging enough to make the most of its sluggish pacing. | | 50 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Feeling$ Real
I never listen to this track outside of Fake Train, but when I do it invariably reminds me that this band are perfect at closers. The moodiest, ugliest, most sluggish track of the bunch, this one brings home a stomach-clenching vocal performance and clamorous chorus. Hideous stuff, but very necessary in its way. Love how caustic this band can be. | | 49 |  | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Entirely Different Matters
A quickfire banger to kick off the best of Unwound’s 90s albums. If I believed the world revolved around Metallica I’d call this after Fake Train the Master of Puppets to their Ride the Lightning - but it doesn’t, so it’s more like the Liar to their Goat in a universe where Liar was better than Goat, or maybe the Sister to their EVOL. Hmm. It bangs, and then it’s over. Good stuff, good start; the worst on the album by virtue of being the least substantial. | | 48 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Nervous Energy
Nervous Energy is a textbook snapshot of everything Unwound were about at this point: sluggish grooves, constantly shifting dynamics, intermittent noise and a furious overtone of malaise. I can’t really fault it as such; the main reason it’s this low is that I consider it far outgunned by the likes of Honourosis and Usual Dosage. Vern and Justin raise some good hell though; this is a staple in its way. | | 47 | | Unwound
Unwound
Understand & Forget
This is the first point on the s/t where Unwound’s scope for greatness really becomes apparent. In some ways this is just a Sonic Youth song with some cookie monster vocals on top, but the guys nail some quickfire changes of pace and their languorous noise is as sharp as the hardcore. Later tracks would see these kind of ideas expanded much more convincingly, but this track is convincing enough as a snappy standalone. | | 46 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
The World Is Flat
I have a weird soft spot for this one, although I don’t think it’s anything close to perfectly realised. Those verses are just so anxious; Trosper’s erratic guitar punctuations are underscored by some of the sexiest drumrolls in the game. Sara Lund is the unsung hero of this track by a decent margin; it’s a shame the piece hinges around such dull bursts of distorted riffing in place of a chorus. This feels like a sizeable upgrade on Fingernails on a Chalkboard, but not nearly the peak as far as anxiety Unwound goes. | | 45 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Sonata for Loudspeakers [Instrumental]
Hi guys, did you know this song is an instrumental? Crazy, right?! Sonata for Loudspeakers is more or less Abstraktions v.2 - a good thing since Abstraktions is fantastic. This one paints more in broad strokes and has less of the subtle dynamics and Slint worship that made its predecessor so great; instead, it has horns! Horns are good, but they can only raise a track so high. Solid enough atmospheric cut. | | 44 | | Unwound
Repetition
Devoid
Devoid’s great strength and great weakness lies in how incredibly memorable its opening bassline is - so much so that I struggle to remember anything else from it. I’ve heard this song *checks* 26 times now, and the impression I have of the first 20 seconds overweights the rest by so much that I can’t help but dock it a few places. Otherwise, it’s a decent midtempo rock cut that sits nicely after Next Exit’s edge-of-your-seat tension and release game. | | 43 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Hexenzsene
An unlikely bright patch just before New Plastic Ideas takes a turn for the very, very gloomy, Hexenzsene feel’s like that album’s equivalent of an unlikely pop song. It’s strange to hear this coming from Unwound, and it’s not exactly a mood raiser - drop this on any peak-era Sonic Youth album and it’d sound angsty as hell. After Envelope’s monumental downer, however, it’s a nice palette cleanser, however brief. | | 42 | | Unwound
Repetition
Lady Elect
A controversial placement, perhaps. This is a rare softboi track from pre-Challenge Unwound, and it’s easy to see why this is such a firm staple for many. They do bleak and beautiful very, very well here. All I can say is that although its chorus is more or less heartbreakingly perfect, the verses here are plain do very little for me. Wow, I feel like Ars writing on this. In general, Trosper’s knack for turning an almost facile sequence of notes into a grounding melody isn’t showcased at its best here. | | 41 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Below the Salt
The longest and bleakest song on any Unwound album is, appropriately, a bit of a mouthful. This is one of the most challenging growers on Leaves… and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It’s one hell of a closing statement and considerably moving in its execution, but I can’t help that feel that other moments on the album said even more, more succinctly. The slow pacing here is impressive in and of itself - it takes four and a half minutes just to hit the first countermelody! There’s a lot to be said for this one; as a mood piece there’s no faulting it, but I’ve never found it to stick as hard as the other highlights from Leaves…’ side-B. | | 40 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Laugh Track
I remember this being my favourite from Challenge for a long time, and this makes sense considering how long it took me to find my way to Repetition. Laugh Track is a decently good successor to Corpse Pose that brings next to nothing new to the table but lays down some of Unwound’s catchiest hooks along with some infectious energy. If Unwound had bothered with singles, this would have been ripe for the picking. | | 39 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Dragnalus
I guess this is one of the more iconic early Unwound tracks. Fuck, that main riff is ugly as hell. Seething misanthropy is obviously par de course for this band, and this track sums it up better than most: hateful and BORED. You can hear the Fugazi influence in the band’s newfound knack for engaging pacing, but more importantly Sara Lund is on skins for the first time and she holds this one down like no-one’s business. I’ve never got into Dragnalus beyond its role as a warmup song for Fake Train/the following albums, but in that guise it’s perfect. | | 38 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Accidents on Purpose
I love this title. I love how awkward this whole track is. This band is so good at doing ugly things. In the scheme of their discog, this track is just a 2-minute skit, but I feel it fleshes out just how talented they were at making crude ideas totally compelling. | | 37 | | Unwound
Unwound
Fingertips
A midtempo ’rock’ track, Fingertips is steady and confident enough to land as my favourite cut from the self-titled record. Unwound dip into their grungiest here without dropping their clangy dissonance in the slightest. In some ways it’s a straight-up Pixies/Nirvana track, but there’s something thoroughly delicious about hearing the band nailing this in their own language. | | 36 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
We Invent You
Outstanding intro. I love how fiercely this one flexes Leaves…’ psych elements from the word go. Beautiful enigmatic melodies all round: this sounds as greyscale as anything Unwound made, but in a totally different way. Leaves really couldn’t ask for a better opener. We Invent You is very much a tease and not a highlight, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. | | 35 | | Unwound
Repetition
Next Exit
Similarly to Lowest Common Denominator, Next Exit was one of the slow cuts on Repetition that best shows Unwound flexing their noise chops. There’s something distinctly apprehensive about this whole track, but the tradeoff in its final couple of minutes between a relatively conservative bass groove and increasingly freeform punctuations of noise is nothing short of iconic. Lee Ranaldo would be proud. | | 34 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
What Went Wrong
Fuck me, the end of this album is dreary (but also the best bit). What Went Wrong is 8 minutes of emotional torture, definitely one of the band’s more maudlin moments. It’s also way overlong and a little off in its pacing, but its overall feeling of despair is excellently articulated at points. With a decent amount of fat trimmed, this could have broken the top 20. | | 33 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Descension
While not as tightly focused or overall brilliant as the backend of New Plastic Ideas, The Future Of What’s second half is full of stomach-lurching moments. Descension is the first of of these; aptly named, this is a real “shit gets real” track - lots of imminent dread spelt all over it. It sometimes flies past me, but I think this is one of the tightest songs in Unwound’s canon in many ways; those four minutes don’t skip a beat and the band play with a seamlessness they would rarely match (up until Leaves…) | | 32 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Demons Sing Love Songs
For my money, this is the weirdest song in the Unwound canon. Sometimes it goes right over my head, sometimes it feels totally essential to Leaves…’ haunted/evasive atmosphere. It’s very plain in some respects but very haunting in others; hearing Trosper and Lund throw out something a stone’s throw away from a psych pop song is pretty disconcerting in and of itself. One thing’s for sure, the album wouldn’t be nearly the same without it. | | 31 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Swan
One of the ugliest and most momentous tracks in the game, Swan’s verses anchor themselves around a stubborn anti-melody and are traded off with a fire n brimstone overload of a chorus packed with peak bleakness. If Fiction Friction and For Your Entertainment closed their albums on ironically triumphant notes, this feels like the band blowing apart The Future of What on a full-throttle downer. It’s strangely satisfying for sure; no wonder this track warranted around eight minutes of feedback as a following winddown - the scope of that crater is almost on par with Feedbacker Part III’s… | | 30 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
What Was Wound
Now *this* bangs! What Was Wound feels like the perfect version of everything the band were rooting around for on their self-titled album. It’s punk as hell, very catchy, a straight blast from change of pace to change of pace. At points, Trosper comes close to screaming an singalong - out of character for sure, but a welcome rush. Great track, one of their best straight-up punk moments. | | 29 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Arboretum
As sluggishly turbulent as anything on New Plastic Ideas’ backend, Arboretum marks itself out through a slightly more forgiving focus on melody. Vern’s surging bass hook in the chorus might be overbearing, but there’s something oddly beautiful about its incorporation here. The midway instrumental is pretty enough too, an unexpected deep dive into subtle dynamics that feels like Unwound’s own For Dinner… Arboretum is excellent; the only thing holding it back for me is its adjacent placement and structural similarity to Usual Dosage, which I feel outguns it somewhat. Still, this one’s mellowness has a great quality to it. | | 28 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Off This Century
Leaves…’ disc 1 rock climax is a pretty intense deal. For all this is more majestic and tempered than old school around, it comes off in some ways as one of their angriest tracks; Trosper’s sneering in the mammoth bridge section is all the more acerbic for how clearly his lyrics can be made out. In other aspects, this is one of the most seamless compositions they ever put together; its knife-edge semiquaver’d guitar rhythm and melodic climax are both impressively executed. Seamless and melodic are not what I love best from this band, however, so it avoids a higher placement. | | 27 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Lifetime Achievement Award
An ultra-depressing dirge that drags its heels through a series of haunting melodies and frames Trosper’s most apathetic vocal performance on record. I want to call this plain or overlong, but I think a slow trudge was the best way to deliver it. Sometime in the second half they play the happy birthday song backwards while Trosper drones through another verse, and it sounds like a human soul wilting into oblivion. I don’t often come back to this one, but it never fails to catch me off guard when I hear it. | | 26 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Treachery
A little sludgy and overtly psyched out, Treachery goes 9/10ths of the way to being a bona fide rock banger but chicanes into something more evasive. I love how tense this one is; that “trouble with the truth is double” mantra in the bridge is a huge moment of release and a little underrated as one of Unwound’s best melodic moments. This track doesn’t pack quite the same weight as several tracks above it, but it’s lean and murky enough to land a solid spot. | | 25 | | Unwound
Repetition
For Your Entertainment
Huge track, huge lyrics, *huge* bridge. This is an easy pick for the best Unwound closer (though not one I stand by), but it’s quite dull to write on; it draws Repetition’s attention to melodic basics and disciplined songwriting out to its logical conclusion. And then, appropriately it ends. Remember how I said in Lady Elect that Trosper was slightly off when it came to picking out simple yet effective melodies? Yeah, For Your Entertainment makes for that a hundred times over. Great song. | | 24 | | Unwound
Challenge For a Civilized Society
Side Effects of Being Tired
Challenge is full of fleetingly great ideas that don’t translate into excellent songs, but Side Effects of Being Tired is as close it comes. The first section is killer, a post-hardcore belter with saxophones raising hell as Vern sneers down the mic during a rare turn as lead vocalist. The following extended noise jam is a tough swallow at first, but very well realised for what it sets out to be; this track takes a slightly different headspace compared to most other top-tier Unwound cuts, but it occupies a fairly unique place in their discography as a result. A banger *and* a slow-burner - hard to compete with that! I almost wish it were longer… | | 23 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Abstraktions
It’s insane how well this band understood both Slint and Sonic Youth. This is reflected across their work, of course, but Abstraktions feels like a perfect marriage of both in one sinister, sometimes-almost-beautiful instrumental that meanders its way through seven minutes with nothing short of dynamic fluency. It’s fantastic in its midway sequencing on New Plastic Ideas, separating up the albums quickfire first half from its momentous second side, but heard in isolation this still delivers the goods. | | 22 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Envelope
Similar to Nervous Energy (also track 3!), this song feels like the perfect average of its album in a generally flattering way. Unlike Nervous Energy, I pack a ton of personal baggage with this one. I spent a lot of time getting into and obsessively listening to Unwound during the lowest year of my life, and Envelope’s lyrics (in eerily precise detail) and brutally ominous overtones stuck with me more than most, so it can go up a few spots for that alone. But mainly, that introduction is the sound of the bottom dropping out of your stomach as you reassess your life and clock how badly you’ve fucked it :] | | 21 | | Unwound
Repetition
Murder Movies
After a somewhat languorous mid-section, this is where Repetition picks up pace again. Murder Movies is an off-kilter scorcher, lightning in a bottle for almost two minutes. The rhythms and hooks are just fantastic here. I dunno. It’s a blast. | | 20 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Summer Freeze
Fuck me, this track is an oil slick. Something of a sleeper pick from Leaves…, this is one of the album’s most sinister moment and a near-standout for me. I can see it being a little repetitious for some, but those dark melodies and that droning refrain are very much under my skin at this point. A lot of Leaves… is airy and almost refreshing; this is a brilliant claustrophobic counterpoint. | | 19 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Lucky Acid
“Indie grind”, ha. I love this song. 1:44 of the most brutal track in the Unwound canon. The noise is dialled up and traded off against a sludgy slam-down that makes for one of the few Unwound songs I could imagine properly moshing to. A perfect meltdown; I think this one is tied down a little by nature of its own scrappiness, but it’s such a blast to hear them go all out that I’m not too phased by this. Banger. | | 18 | | Unwound
Repetition
Unauthorized Autobiography
This track is such a natural follow-on to Corpse Pose that I basically think of them as the same piece. It’s another case of a ludicrously good bassline from this motherload of a bass album, and I like how this one goes for a punchier feel than many other tracks on Repetition; this one doesn’t indulge too much in its own groove. Very lean stuff. | | 17 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Radio Gra
A more expansive follow-on from Summer Freeze’s claustrophobic nightmare, Radio Gra is superb songwriting. Relying on a handful of arpeggios and string accompaniment, it evokes the same atmosphere as the strongest of Slint cuts but, unlike Slint, it says the most through its melodies, rather than its dynamics. Unwound have always been more invested in dynamics, which are more effective vehicles for communicating moods in general; the degree to which their melodic confidence catches up here is stunning. A thoroughly hypnotic experience. | | 16 | | Unwound
Repetition
Corpse Pose
A normie pick for a top 3 Unwound song, but for good reason. Corpse Pose is one of the most melodically memorable and rhythmically impressive things the band have on offer; just hearing how these three members go from playing in their own separate worlds in the verses to tightening up for a lean chorus gets me every time. The bridge is obviously huge and complements the song fantastically, but I think my main complaint is that Trosper’s guitar tone is a little too clean for its own good here. Corpse Pose is a blast, but it doesn’t have quite enough grit to place higher for me. A great introduction to the band, for sure. | | 15 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
All Souls Day
Much as Leaves… is a slowburning masterpiece, I won’t hesitate to call the second half of New Plastic Ideas the concentrated highlight of Unwound’s whole discography. These four tracks feel like their own suite, running together with increasing desperation and hitting higher and higher highs. All Souls Day is the point on the album where the shit hits the fan, part noise rock banger and part warning sign that, uh, something’s off and things are about to get real. Oh boy, do they. | | 14 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
December
Now this is *excellent.* One of the first Unwound songs I really got into. That opening bassline; those guitar punctuations; that ultra-smooth chorus tying together anxious verses. Classic stuff. December is so slick I sometimes get carried away by it and forget to be impressed by how well-crafted it is; a very minor pseudoflaw, but we’re in the top-tier now so it gets docked a few places. | | 13 | | Unwound
Repetition
Lowest Common Denominator
This is I think the first real sighting we get of the artsier approach that developed throughout Unwound’s final three albums. Lowest Common Denominator’s use of noise and changes of rhythm are more sophisticated than anything the band had previously pulled off in this department, and its unhurried tempo foregrounds this deliciously. That’s half its appeal - the other half is lies in how its ubersexy bass grove marks four-for-four when it comes to Repetition’s opening salvo. Really strong stuff. | | 12 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Disappoint
I think The Future of What wins the award for the Unwound album with the most accurate song titles. This track is a horrifyingly invocative portrait of everything going wrong in slow motion. It’s a perfect example of noisey Unwound at their most sluggish and shows the band’s knack for getting their quieter sections to sound more uncomfortable than their loud ones; the harmonics and melodies in this one feel emotionally grating in a way that still gets me. I have a very vivid memory of hearing this on the plane the day I moved to Italy having organised zero accommodation beyond my first week and deeply regretting everything I was leaving behind, having snagged about 2hrs sleep the night before; this track brought out this deep feeling of dread and “fuckfuckfuck what happens next, how’s this going to go.” Best and worst choice of playlist. | | 11 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Demolished
A highly underrated pick and in many ways one of most accessible Unwound tracks; the basslines here are very melodic and Trosper’s vocal performance is more in line with your usual depressed 90s alt rock band than his usual acerbic flair. I guess that’s it - this is basically a catchy, upbeat alt rock song given the Unwound treatment. Not their best, but definitely one that makes me come back the most. | | 10 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
Terminus
An obligatory pick for one of the top spots, Terminus is more or less worth the hype as Unwound’s breathtaking pseudoepic. Dropping a cut this ambitious and expansive into a tracklist that had just seemed to hit its groove with December and Treachery is a bold move, but it feels somehow appropriate to Leaves…’ scope. This one has been amusingly compared to GY!BE, by virtue of being vaguely post-rock and containing strings. However, progression here is more complex than Godspeed’s linear marathons, working fleet-footedly in 4-bar trade-offs in incremental than dynamics. Unwound wisely avoid an outright climax here and up the intrigue by cooling off and swapping in an extended coda; mature songwriting etcetc. A deeply impressive cut. | | 9 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
One Lick Less
Utterly beautiful. In many ways, this is the most impressive track on Leaves…’, a psychedelic masterpiece that reconfigures the band’s feverish dynamics into something sweeping and dreamlike. I’ve spend half this list dropping Slint and Sonic Youth references, but I don’t think either band could ever have made something this graceful sound so perfect. That’s growth for you. | | 8 | | Unwound
The Future of What
New Energy
The best pure ‘punk’ Unwound song, what a fucking great opener. Vern’s bassline on this one is pure evil and the intensity is dialled up to 11. The Future of What is probably Unwound’s most angular, clangy album and this track shows this off immediately. I once played this track so hard on my guitar that I broke my D string. That’s the third lowest string - that shit isn’t meant to happen. Huge stuff. | | 7 | | Unwound
Repetition
Message Received
So I bought a used copy of Repetition without knowing a single song on it (apart from whatever was on Further Listening, which I couldn’t remember clearly) and it was probably the most expensive disc I’ve ever paid for. So when it arrived and I put this on for the first time, I lost my shit. 30 seconds of tape scratching at the start?!! I was about to turn that shit off and sulk when in comes probably the grooviest bassline ever laid down on an Unwound track and some top-notch Trosper un-melodies. Message Received is a simple track beyond this, but it wraps up Repetition’s best qualities very concisely and lands as the best Unwound opener for me. | | 6 | | Unwound
The Future of What
Petals Like Bricks
A bizarrely overlooked track that is absolute peak Unwound in many respects. Most of this track is straight pummelling but Trosper in particular threads an impressive amount of melody here. His guitar lines in the stormy verses and uncomfortably delicate midsection are disarmingly beautiful, in a dirty kinda way. Perfect title to that end. This track feels like an ultracompressed, faster version of tracks like Usual Dosage or Nervous Energy, and it’s deeply impressive how well this is pulled off while hardly sacrificing those tracks’ intimidating sense of gravity. | | 5 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Valentine Card / Kantina / Were, Are And Was Or Is
Oh man, the trilogy. The best accidental pressing phenomenon of our times. This trilogy is not *quite* the best Unwound track - Valentine Card’s Jesus Lizard-esque romp isn’t quite on par with its successors and the SY Sprawl-isms of Were, Are And Was Or Is are maybe a tad stretched out. However, nothing will ever sound quite the way Vern Rumsey’s bloodcurdling bassline does at the start of Kantina. Trosper’s firework of an overdriven intro, the song’s skeletal almost mute verses, and that momentous first chorus. My God. This central track is a scorched-earth banger and would comfortably sit at the #1 spot if released as a standalone - yet somehow I would hate for this to happen. The trilogy carries a strong charm in how it folds around its central cut, as though to a raise a cautionary too-much-of-a-good-thing finger. A classic. | | 4 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Usual Dosage
Usual Dosage is disgusting. Everything about this track feels anxious and unstable in a way that almost makes me sick at points. This track is just unbelievably menacing, turning the classic peak/valley gimmick into a genuine sense of threat, eruptions of noise bursting out of a seething undercurrent. For all he holds himself in reserve more than the two previous albums’ wildest moments, this is probably Justin Trosper’s most harrowing performance for me. Also, I’ve talked a lot about how SY/Fugazi/Slint/Jesus Lizard et al. can be read from the band perhaps without crediting them on their own merits enough; this is a perfect track when it comes to demonstrating their individual Wow factor, and I can’t imagine anyone else nailing it the same way. | | 3 | | Unwound
New Plastic Ideas
Fiction Friction
This is how you close an album. If the previous three tracks on New Plastic Ideas felt like they were plumbing incrementally lower depths, Fiction Friction calls our bluff over the whole “how deep will they go?!” schtick and lays down an apocalyptically noisey landmark of low bpms and clamorous resonance. There’s something perversely triumphant about it, its huge, ultradeliberate note placements clanging with great assertion after its predecessors’ feverishly restless dynamics, and Trosper’s contemptuous aside “I’m not a prodigy“ somehow landing as an expression of freedom. That’s Fiction Friction for you - equal parts burnout and release, a fitting end to one of the best post-hardcore albums released by anyone. | | 2 | | Unwound
Fake Train
Honourosis
Honourosis is a weird choice of near-favourite, from Fake Train or in general. Almost like Nervous Energy’s depressed/less nervous older sibling, this is far and away the album’s most melancholic pick. Unwound are exemplary as a resentful band, but I think they often work even better as a forlorn band (hence Fiction Friction, Kantina, Disappoint etc.). Justin and Vern are very shrewd in where they drop their melodies here; this song has distinct hooks, but they’re sparse and weary, and the track’s slow shifts in and out of distortion give it an oddly compelling sense of dragging its feet. I dunno. This is depressing but also loud as hell, and if that ain’t true to the appeal of early Unwound I don’t know what is. | | 1 | | Unwound
Leaves Turn Inside You
October All Over
A true classic. Most Unwound tracks are fairly easy to pinpoint in relation to other songs/bands/styles without losing their edge, but none of these associations come close to touching October All Over. It’s totally cogent with the rest of the album, but it’s also one of those very rare tracks where everything is so perfectly placed that it seems to operate according to its own logic. That opening riff paired off with that drum-beat; the way the whole thing is so smooth yet grounded in the off-beat. Inspired. That midway jam is impeccable; despite being driven by reverb, layered tones and reverse effects I feel like I could sing it it note for note from memory. That’s how to manipulate sounds while making every note sound essential. That deadpan “sometimes you laugh so cry” lyric would feel misplaced out of 9/10 songs, but it lands with full weight here. Nothing is overly foregrounded. Everything is perfect. | |
JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | Legendary band. Take your seats y'all! | Bedex
05.03.20 | wow this is already getting out, nice
feedback is cool man We Invent You is sublime | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | I did my writeups while listening, so just a few small revisions to go now (and I can do these while uploading)
If I didn't like feedback, this'd be the wrong band to go to town on ;] there are bigger and better feedbacks to come | Bedex
05.03.20 | lol fair point
looking forward to the rest of the list! | DadKungFu
05.03.20 | I dig the ambition of this, look forward to the rest | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | Got the first 5 up - going to see if anyone else shows up, then press on
| Jots
05.03.20 | imo stop before you tarnish my good name, sir | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | i'll give you til the count of 5 to kickstart + complete an alternative list, mr. spot | Jots
05.03.20 | I don’t make lists, JohnnyinaNoose :_[ | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | allow me to make one for you then, JohnnysoontobeovertheRainbow | StarlessCore
05.03.20 | Yes finish this | dedex
05.03.20 | wow you also did some write-ups? man mine gonna look like shit
and didn't expect Antifreeze to be your least fave off the s/t, Prospect and its painful mix hurt mah ears real bad | Jots
05.03.20 | if more future of what doesn’t appear in the top 20 then it probably won’t be “for me”, JohnnygetstheHoseagain | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | next 5 up!
all I can say is to hold onto your beer and follow that album closely, JohnnyofmixedExpectations
and yeah dedex, I find descriptions q easy for lists like this - it's v difficult to think of something interesting and unique to say for every song, so I dropped the quality threshold and kept it concise. I expect you to raise the game ;] Antifreeze and Prospect aren't that far apart, but I'm v not down with Antifreeze's basic rhythm | dedex
05.03.20 | "I expect you to raise the game"
pls dont
tbh I feel you concerning Antifreeze, I just find it works well as an opener | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | *takes several people’s seats* | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | woah Joe, move dat ass
mmm I guess Antifreeze does work as an opener, but I also feel they could have gone straight in with Rising Blood without losing anything | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | they’re not mine i was holding them for some friends | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | oh okay in that case you can have some free cola ig | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | sweet
🥳 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | also can i sit with you when this is over plz | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | of course & i will protect you from potentially disgruntled fans | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | nice, what protection do you offer
speaking of disgruntled fans, if no-one's gonna complain about Fake Train having the lowest ranking non-interlude cuts not from the s/t, time for another 5 | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | for the sake of avoiding jail-time & hospital bills for the time being verbal abuse is my mode of choice | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | the premium package at no extra charge of course | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | hmm i see, do you dish this out yourself or do you have good flunkies? | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | i’ll do the dishing | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | give me a taste
next 5 up! | Pikazilla
05.03.20 | None of the Fake Train songs should be in the top 10, agreed. Good ranking so far. | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | “hey you what’s your social security number”
“how does it feel to be wrong & incredibly attractive”
“i love you” | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | they’ll never recover | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | joe this is too much, i wouldn't let you gaslight my worst enemy (aka me, when you talk to me :[)
"None of the Fake Train songs should be in the top 10, agreed"
uh
| JustJoe.
05.03.20 | i’ll pare it back | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | i know you, you'll just hurt them more in the long run | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | that’s probably true
🥺 | DadKungFu
05.03.20 | Anyone else think the s/t is underrated? Strong Rites of Spring/Husker Du vibes, which I absolutely love | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | The s/t is underrated insofar as a lot of it rips, but also not insofar as a lot of its best parts sound like prototypes of things the band ended up doing much better hmm | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | next 5 up, controversy potential rising | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | i’m doing my typing exercises as we speak | DadKungFu
05.03.20 | I'd put 68 (Equally Stupid) and 61 (Look a Ghost) way higher but those are the only ones I strongly disagree with so far. | StarlessCore
05.03.20 | You bite my tongue and look a ghost are already too low. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | You Bite My Tongue is one that feels it'd place a bit higher if I'd had as many years of experience with the s/t and with the others; don't really have anything to say against that one, so it'd probably get an edge over most of the tracks currently above it with a few repeats, since they have more qualities I actively don't love | Chortles
05.03.20 | whoa whoa. nice. gonna look out for the rest. shout out for NPI being the only album not having shown up so far. gotta say I've a soft spot for 66 and would have it way higher, I think the riff is just too good not to repeat for 5 mins
probably the best band. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | Heh, glad you noticed that - another 5 up and still no NPI. We are now in good/very good-tier. I wonder what that says about NPI... | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | I'd put go to dallas, look a ghost, and maybe a few from self-titled way higher. but still nothing totally egregious so far. excited to see how this turns out | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | Woah there Mr. Imposter, how about another 5 tracks' worth of placation (although this one will ruffle your feathers)? | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | if i end up disagreeing on the placement of my favorite will i have to roast myself | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | oh my goodness plz no this must not happen (what's your fav again?) | StarlessCore
05.03.20 | wheres the debut | Pikazilla
05.03.20 | If Dragnalus doesn't pop up in the next ten songs, I'm rolling up a newspaper | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | what dragnalus is probably top 20
who cares ahead of scarlette oof | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | “summer freeze” because i’m a fairly simple spirit & have only heard “leaves turn inside you” | SteakByrnes
05.03.20 | My favorite Unwound song is Corpse Pose :] | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | yeah aha Scarlette is good but Who Cares is a weirdly iconic closer, always enjoyed that one
Joe that track is such a you pick idk how I didn't see this. Only one I could see being more you is probs One Lick Less (ps listen to the other albums now plz xx) | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | i’ll get to them eventually
😋 | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | i like who cares too because y'know perfect album, but scarlette's instrumental always pummels me. once I got on board with the vocals it became a top 10 unwound track for me
this is sort of beside the point but I love the flow of one lick less->scarlette->october. maybe that's part of the reason I rank scarlette higher than most would | dedex
05.03.20 | Look a Ghost below Scarlette and Who Cares
:-( | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | @Smash I feel this re. sequencing big time. Several tracks coming up (and 56) got pushed around for those kinda reasons ;] | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | going to crash, but dropped 5 more. some big names coming out now | Bedex
05.03.20 | I like how high up New Plastic Ideas tracks are getting | GhandhiLion
05.03.20 | All these Fake Train songs so low smh. All of them should be in the top 25 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | Yeah, all the meh bits of Fake Train have now been successfully culled. Guess how long it'll be til the next one drops... | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | 7 long & perilous days | GhandhiLion
05.03.20 | You call Feeling$ Real MEH? Zzzz | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | unless you meant song placement then that makes no sense | JohnnyoftheWell
05.03.20 | tbh Feeling$ Real + Nervous Energy are not meh, both solid 4/5 tracks
Joe you guessed wrong sorry bb | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | i’ll heal but slowly | SandwichBubble
05.03.20 | All that Fake train at the bottom...
This man spins falsehoods.
He's a witch, and we must purge the devil from him.
With fire! | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | he'll probably put kantina at #1 to make up for it | SandwichBubble
05.03.20 | Too late, torch lit. | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | 💦 💧 🚿 🌊 | JustJoe.
05.03.20 | extinguished | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | if side effects of being tired isn't top 10 we light it up again | GhandhiLion
05.03.20 | That is a good one. Challenge for a Civilized Society is an underrated album. | onionbubs
05.03.20 | i havent listened to most of this in forever so im gonna need to rejog my memory on some of these albums, but aint no way in hell scarlette is that low | SmashIsTheWay94
05.03.20 | Challenge for a Civilized Society is an underrated album [2]
aint no way in hell scarlette is that low [also 2] | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Wow there was a Fake Train torch? Let's have five more not from that album :] 2 of these are probably top 10 picks for several people, so Joe get the water bucket out plz | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | buckets at the ready | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | aim carefully so you don't get it in people's eyes plz | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | my aim is true | budgie
05.04.20 | i rate this thread a zero | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | budgie what i s ur favoUrit unwound
also most of these descriptions were written tipsy and weren't proofed, so plz point out any glaring nonsense! | Trifolium
05.04.20 | I have never checked these guys. Having ''hardcore'' in any way, shape or form in as description always repels me. Would I like this Johnny? | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Their last album, possibly/probably - it's basically psyched out Sonic Youth/Slint vibes with some occasional grit. Everything else is various shades of battery acid with great dynamics, but perfect for that style. All time top 10 band for me | Trifolium
05.04.20 | Oh wow. Ok, perhaps this needs to go on the list then. At least the last one. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Yeah, the last one is a must and more or less its own thing. Everything else is valuable for different reasons; guess I see it as kinda a total opposite to that Supercar/Radiohead/TG vibe of 90s nostalgia. No band catches stagnant, misanthropic vibes in quite the same way, and idk if I can imagine their kind of discontent associated with a different timeframe
| Winesburgohio
05.04.20 | I, personally, disagree, | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | oh yeah well too bad you are a good person with immense talent | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Rt. Honourable Winesburgohiosama, what would be your crown jewels? | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | gottem johnny | Winesburgohio
05.04.20 | god i'd have trouble undertaking anything of this magnitude, but I do think Look a Ghost, Below the Salt and Kandy Korn Rituals are often over-looked tunes, especially the former; Unwound can do melody and structure!
Inordinately fond of Fiction Friction, Lucky Acid, their trilogy and Terminus | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Unwound *can* do melody and structure! I can't fault them as such in Look a Ghost, but there's more to come in that dept. Felt quite bad about Below the Salt tbh - feel that one will go up generous amount of places over time. It probably would have been on a level with Go to Dallas a couple of years ago; the only way is up!
As for those others...make sure to drop back in later on ;] | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | much recharge in preparation for my next victim
🔥🤗🔥 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | hehe
joe, is it time for another 5? | JustJoe.
05.04.20 | it is time | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | aight, we're gaining! 40-36 up | ArsMoriendi
05.04.20 | Dammit Johnny, now I'm listening to Lady Elect | Bedex
05.04.20 | I like your blurb on We Invent You, I don't like its ranking but I can empathise with it
One of the greatest openers imo, sets the peculiar mood of Leaves straight away (after a wall of feedback of course) | SteakByrnes
05.04.20 | If Corpse Pose isn't at least top ten I am suing | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | Lol Ars what did you think?
Bedex that wall of feedback is iconique and I love it and I kinda wish I could put it higher but alas :[
Steak hold onto your seat bby, time for 5 more | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.20 | up to 31! calibre is getting v steep | Ryus
05.04.20 | loves a demon! | IronGiant
05.04.20 | love me some Treachery, hope it gets love here too. need to explore their other albums more but just relistened to side effects of being tired and sonata for loud speakers and they were great. I like Unwound when they're at their most Slint worshipy I think | ArsMoriendi
05.04.20 | "Lol Ars what did you think?"
These guys are clearly influenced by Slint. It was fine. | Winesburgohio
05.05.20 | just wanna give props for a monumental undertaking | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | < 3 < 3
5 more! looks like Treachery got jinxed
Ars, does that mean you mostly agree with the blurb ;] | porcupinetheater
05.05.20 | No clue what fever took hold of you and in the throes of delirium compelled you to make this list, but I'm glad it did. Lovely, ambitious, ultimately futile stuff. Beautiful work. 19 is 1. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | Thanks aha, couple of bottles of wine and a good excuse for a discog binge was all it took ;] Do you mean 29, or have you guessed my choice of 19 (which as it happens would be a deliciously rogue pick for 1) lol? | porcupinetheater
05.05.20 | I'm putting my faith in posterity to smile upon my rash calls into the void, but my word if you're phrasing there don't send a few extra rocks tumbling to the Earth far below even when these updates of 5 already got me hanging from a cliff
Edit: Though tbh 29 wouldn't be the worst pick in the world either, you could do worse than massive sexy/grimy bass throbbing | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | Hahaha, gotta work those stakes! will be low key overjoyed if that one does end up as anyone's 1 (and ye, pretty sure there's a decent number of people who'd pick 29 as the best on NPI - a beaut song for sure) | porcupinetheater
05.05.20 | Tbh got my fingers crossed for Abstraktions as the numero uno off NPI, band takes no prisoners putting to bed the cliche that punks can't instrumentally decimate. Can't imagine what it would've been like to have the chance to catch 'em live back in the day | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | 5 updates per cycle plus those substantial blurbs got me fiendin’ | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | wow Joe is that a hint? | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | could very well be
🙃 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | woah
turns out both you and porcupinetheater have jinxed yourselves, sorry guys. also fuck me, must have been waved when I did that Envelope blurb. sad times :[ | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | top 20 hell yeah my heart is at peace | dedex
05.05.20 | 24. Abstraktions
23. Envelope
:o | Yotimi
05.05.20 | Good, no Corpse Pose yet | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | actually, yknow what I have made a huge mistake hold up | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | there, revised (dunno how I placed Side Effects over those 2 NPI songs). RIP all songs from Challenge (and the s/t lol) | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | oh wait i got one more horse in this race | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | mmm yeah you do - stick close to that one ;] | Demon of the Fall
05.05.20 | Not gonna lie, I’m struggling a tad with Fake Train. | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | consider me adhered | dedex
05.05.20 | "RIP all songs from Challenge (and the s/t lol)"
well these are the "worst" albums so legit | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | Fake Train side-A is absolute gold for reasons that are mostly undisclosed so far, but yeah side-B is a washout
Anyone wanna place bets on the next album to drop out? | dedex
05.05.20 | The Future of What? | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | interesting - and on which track? ;] | dedex
05.05.20 | I know you have NPI 4.9 so I don't expect this one
LTIY duh
Repetition is my 2nd fave and I don't want you to disappoint me 'cause the best songs there are amazazazing
so yeah, The Future of What | dedex
05.05.20 | Gotta be one of the 'D' tracks... Disappoint? | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | your response has been noted. I wanna do another 4 now hmm | SteakByrnes
05.05.20 | I wonder when Valentine Card is coming :] | dedex
05.05.20 | Just realized you didn't include (Untitled) from Challenge | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | No but I probs should have done - since it's a Side Effects reprise I didn't think too hard about it. Would probs have gone just above Warmth
Next update incoming! | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | angry mob incoming | dedex
05.05.20 | 😡😡😡 | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | that’s three of them & they’re all sunburnt | Artuma
05.05.20 | holy shit this thing is awesome
wish abstraktions was higher though, top 5 unwound track for me | Artuma
05.05.20 | also swan is fucking killer, the future of what in general is quite underrated imo | SmashIsTheWay94
05.05.20 | you really did Challenge dirty on this list :[ but it seems I'm in the minority in thinking that's one of their best
I gave Fake Train a listen a couple days ago and yeah Lucky Acid slams so hard. cool to see it in the top 20 | SteakByrnes
05.05.20 | I am suing | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | I need my lawyer (Egarran) but am pretty sure this band/thread are thoroughly Eg-proof, fuck.
Also half wishing I put Abstraktions higher btw, Envelope got the edge for blurb reasons but I feel I'd score higher if I did this in another 2 years or so | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | also i can’t be your back-up lawyer we’d both end up in jail | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | i’ll protect you with my corpse [pose] | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | gonna have to do more than pose to keep me protected Joe but I like this arrangement :[
the next 5 are really dope so imma drop them as appeasement | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.20 | #10 and #9 are up, and I'm going to bed. Throw in your best guesses for the order of those remaining ;] | JustJoe.
05.05.20 | 20 + 9
💞 | SmashIsTheWay94
05.05.20 | terminus is my #1 but I'm glad it cracked the top 10
if I'm figuring things right you're doing fake train's trilogy all as one song, so I'll guess that and october all over for the top 2. beyond that Idk | Winesburgohio
05.06.20 | the coda of Terminus is just incredible | ArsMoriendi
05.06.20 | "Ars, does that mean you mostly agree with the blurb ;]"
I suppose | Winesburgohio
05.06.20 | Ranking Unwounds albums is hard enough, I think New Plastic Ideas is my preferred drop at the moment but Fake Train and Leaves are howling out back with an ax | Scoot
05.06.20 | october all over is #1 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | New Plastic Ideas is never a bad pick for best anything, album is thoroughly axe-proof | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | 2 more up...and looks like dedex was wrong bc that's the end of Repetition :[ | dedex
05.06.20 | how could you | budgie
05.06.20 | HOW COULD YOU | Artuma
05.06.20 | that bass on message received, love to see it that high | porcupinetheater
05.06.20 | How could you let us come to terms with updates of five and then scale it down to two at a time, you fucking sadist
List eliminations make sense now, you don't know jack about a civilized society | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | "you don't know jack about a civilized society"
eyy ;] you are right; I am a monster and want you all to suffer, but the last five are so fantastic that this intention is probably in vain... | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | endgame time: 4 to go! | dedex
05.06.20 | 4. Usual Dosage
3. Honourosis
2. Fiction Friction
1. October All Over
maybe im totally wrong | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | maybe they are all 1
or maybe (Untitled) is 1 | SteakByrnes
05.06.20 | Lol good shit with 5 | dedex
05.06.20 | (Untitled) at 1 would be anti-climatic as fuck | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | but would it be worse than leaving it off the list? | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | my two favorites have already appeared so i am appeased | dedex
05.06.20 | tbh yeah | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | any other ensuing disgruntled persons might i suggest being not disgruntled i promise you’ll immediately feel better | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | heh you got one top 20 and one top 10 Joe, could be worse ;] | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | hence my joy
🥳 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | j o y : ]
4 is up, score one for dedex | NeroCorleone
05.06.20 | 63 was always one of my favorites off future | dedex
05.06.20 | score one? now I expect at least another correct guess | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | Okay we're done here, dedex almost nailed it but *ha* | dedex
05.06.20 | ha
Huge list man! Mine will be up later this week (don't expect huge blurbs like yours tho) | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | Oh damn haha, I should have drawn it out even further so we had a couple of mins' worth of overlap | SmashIsTheWay94
05.06.20 | can't really argue with that pick for the top spot. amazing song, amazing band, amazing list
*standing ovation* | dedex
05.06.20 | Nah man np you would have waited for too long | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | one of the most enjoyable list experiences i have had in quite a long time | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | i am reminded though for different reasons of the joys of steak’s essential crabcore list | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | you’re all #1 | DoofDoof
05.06.20 | 31 might be 1 but I'd need to relisten the entire discog to be sure | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | just realized that now that it’s finished there are 79 variations of the “insert number is 1” comment | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | 20 + 9 is 1 | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.20 | no-one's stopping you Doof ;]
darius u are #1 and joe is #0 ok let's do fugazi next idk | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | once i thought about ranking every boards of canada song but then i immediately burst into tears | JustJoe.
05.06.20 | inb4 “tears of boredom” zinger | Winesburgohio
05.07.20 | fuck yes Usual Dosage | porcupinetheater
05.07.20 | Dude, wonderful undertaking all around. May MVP.
19 is 1. | SteakByrnes
05.07.20 | Dude hell yea you finished :] this was a fun read | JohnnyoftheWell
05.07.20 | 19 < 3 Usual Dosage < 3 < 3 Steak :3 | Rawmeeth38
06.21.20 | I would never put usual dosage that high but hey thats just me. Kick ass list. 10 and 23 would be my 1 and 2. | JustJoe.
06.22.20 | gonna bump this just because | SmashIsTheWay94
06.22.20 | never a bad idea to bump this beauty of a list
10 is probably 1 tho | unclereich
06.22.20 | 1 is 1. I don't want to hear anyone say otherwise. that song is audible perfection | GhandhiLion
06.22.20 | it's a 4.5 / 10 | JohnnyoftheWell
06.22.20 | >sometimes u laugh so hard u cry | Rawmeeth38
06.22.20 | “that song is audible perfection“
As is Terminus | MyNameIsPencil
08.18.20 | Am I too late to say RIP Vern
| JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.20 | Defs not. Hard RIP :[ | MyNameIsPencil
08.18.20 | Also my 1 is your 23, but there's no "right" way to rank unwound so good list | SmashIsTheWay94
08.18.20 | seeing any unwound album or unwound-related list bumped is gonna hit a little different now :[ | JohnnyoftheWell
08.18.20 | For real :[ Jammed NPI about an hr ago and it was so strange having to remind myself - that record is so full of horrible uncomfortable angry life.
It was less strange being reminded that 23 is a v worthy 1 ;] | JohnnyoftheWell
08.15.23 | does this need remaking HMM | Ryus
09.04.23 | justice for lady elect
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