HYLI Vol XXVIII: Unwound and Obituary
Patrick sends Andy some noise rock from the Pacific Northwest and Andy sends Patrick yet another death metal band from Florida
Pat yelled at me to write the intro so I’ll write an intro. I love my friend Pat. He is a good friend. We met through the internet a decade plus ago and then he moved to Gainesville, the best place on earth, and we were friends in person for a few years. Now I deal with him every single god damn day over text messages (Patrick: you send me daily voice memos of you screaming into your phone like you’re in La Dispute, who is dealing with who here) and see him like once a year which is not nearly enough. I wish I saw my good friend Pat more. I love my friend (Patrick: same). Tell your friends you love them.
Unwound - New Plastic Ideas
Patrick: Unwound announced a reunion last week. I’m so fucking excited man. I’m going to fly to the Big Apple to see them next year. I have to. It’s just one of those things where I missed the boat with them during the original incarnation because I was, uhh, 11 when they released their last album lol.
New Plastic Ideas is probably my third favorite album by Unwound. I had picked another album for this week but the reunion news coincided with Andy fucking whining to me about the length of the album I chose (Andy: he chose a one hour and 20 minute album with a fish man on the cover and the first song was uhhhhhh…something else) (Patrick: oh yeah, I forgot I chose Captain Beefheart LOL), so it seemed like a natural shift to choose this album, since my two favorite Unwound albums (1995’s The Future of What and 2001’s Leaves Turn Inside You - a perfect album) are both over an hour.
The great thing about New Plastic Ideas is how good the music is. Y’all ever just listen to music that rocks? This motherfucker rocks. I love how noisy and abrasive it can get at times (“Usual Dosage”), while at other times being so full of perfect melodies (“Hexenzsene”) or occasionally bordering on post-rock (“Abstraktions”).
I love this band so much. I can’t wait to see them. Revisiting them this week has been so cool. This should be a guitar-playing textbook. Who the fuck needs to honk on some Stevie Ray Vaughan dipshit blues lawyer riffs when you can do this? Hope You Like It.
Andy: I think I maybe hit a breaking point with this record. I love Pat and I love trying my best to get into his music but this newsletter has really worn on me (Patrick: oh). I’m not sure I’m able to continue to listen to the shit slop that Pat recommends to me on a weekly basis (Patrick: jesus, man). I think I’m done (Patrick: you have my number and can text me).
PSYCH (Patrick: fuck you)! This is the best thing Pat has recommended to me by a large mile. What is your deal bro? Why do we have to wait 27 weeks into a newsletter for you to show me this shit (Patrick: they reunited this week, it’s called synergy)? This album goes so hard. It has no right going this hard. This record got better and better each time I listened to it. It might be a 5/5 album? This is fantastic (Patrick: it’s probably my third favorite of theirs, but the other two are over an hour lol).
I was about halfway through “Abstraktions” on my first listen when I realized I had completely stopped working and was just listening. The slow build of the closer “Fiction Friction” is just *chef kiss emoji*. Nearly perfect post-hardcore. Noisy, with lots of distortion and feedback, great riffs. Just all very, very my jam (Patrick: we love to hear it around these parts). It’s all so good. I have no notes. This is an album I’d recommend by saying “Just listen” because that is really all you need.
I will not delete this from my library. I’ll definitely take a look at the rest of Unwound’s discography. I Loved It (Patrick: fly with me to New York to see them).
Obituary - Cause of Death
Andy: The last few weeks I’ve been on a mini-Florida Death Metal run (Patrick: mini? weeks?) with Morbid Angel, Cynic, Death (well, back in February) and now Obituary. I prefer Death as a whole but Cause of Death is absolute death metal perfection. An essential listen for anyone interested in death metal. Guitarist James Murphy (who played on Death’s 1990 album Spiritual Healing) just absolutely shreds on this record. Big Riffs! Great Groove! Sick Solos! Some fun atmosphere and weird noise samplings add to the overall vibe.
This is the best of Obituary’s discography. They never quite got back to being this good but that’s fine. You can’t always make a 10/10 album. That’s fine though, they did this time. Hope You Like It!
Patrick: This was very cool. I think I like Florida Death Metal now. I am fully on board, between this, Death and Morbid Angel. I am begging you to move the fuck on now, though. It’s been a full month. Give me something new.
I’m not joking. There’s no “Psych!!” coming. I would like a different brand of metal, despite loving Cause of Death.
The drums absolutely fucking rock on this thing. My man Donald Tardy just absolutely going wild on the kit. I also really liked the lead guitar tone here, though again, I couldn’t separate in my head how much it sounds like Kirk Hammett and other thrash players. Death metal is just thrash made in Florida, because living in Florida makes you want to die. I can’t be convinced otherwise at this juncture (Andy: I guess you’re not wrong).
Also really dug the vocals here, probably the most so of any of these recent bands. Dude could fully nail the barking vocals and I appreciated him staying in his lane and only really doing those instead of trying things he was maybe worse at. I really liked this and will check out more Obituary. I Liked It A Lot. Send me something different from this next time, or at least from a different state, or consult my lawyer.