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EDIT INFOUnwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
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Album Details
- Artist: Unwound
- Album: Leaves Turn Inside You
- Label: Kill Rock Stars
- Year of Release: 2001
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-04-01
RecommendUnwound are on to something new with Leaves Turn Inside You. It should almost be entitled “Unwound Turn Over A New Leaf� but that would just be silly. If you are a longtime fan of Unwound you will probably have bought this disc already (they have quite an avid fanbase). For those of you thinking about getting into Unwound you might be surprised by their new “Leaf�. They used to be a very heavy and angry indie rock band but on this album they seem to have rediscovered themselves. They are still very experimental but on a bit of a lighter note. The darkness is still there and Leaves is like a swirling nightmare at times, echoing in on itself. There are times when Unwound get a bit loud like the old days, such as “Scarlette�, but you if you really enjoy the loud stuff you may be in for a shock. I was disappointed at Leaves upon first listen but as all great albums, repeated listens brought more enjoyment, until I am to the point of praising Unwound. This really is a fine album and a great move for Unwound. So move on from The Future Of What and embrace the new Unwound and take what they are offering at face value.
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on 2012-01-05 CharlesMartel Said:
I suppose Unwound were the logical progression from Sonic Youth, and anyone who is a fan of Sonic Youth really ought to take a close look at this lot. " Leaves Turn Inside You" was the final album before the band split up, and stands pretty much as a testament to everything they were. It is, however, more polished and better produced than any of their earlier work and perhaps the band wanted to show what they really could do given the chance.
Unwound perhaps had the advantage over many of their noise rock contemporaries in that they could actually play their instruments when they started out. That put them a cut above the rest for a start. But I find " Leaves Turn Inside You " to be less an expression of virtuosity than a statement of regret. In that manner, it is too damn long and does drag somewhat in the middle. The main reason for that is the quality of the songwriting. It simply is not up to the mark. At times the lyrics are trite and simplistic and at times like these the band seem to rely on their musical abilities to carry them through. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work like that.
It is almost as if the band wanted this to be their " Zen Arcade ". I can detect the same sort of ideas and there are of course other similarities in the length of some of the tracks and the fact that this too is a double album. But the similarities end there. "Zen Arcade " was a concept album of sorts, this is not. "Zen Arcade " was innovative and ground breaking when it released. This is not.
In truth, I rather switched off about a third of the way through listening to the album. I cannot explain it, but this simply failed to strike a chord with me. Sure it is well put-together and contains some good melodies, something unusual in a lot of post-hardcore, but it seemed to lack something essential. Listening to it in smaller doses is a distinct improvement and by so doing you can begin to assimilate something of what is going on. " October All Over" and the eleven minute opus "Below the Salt" stand out once you isolate the tracks from each other. But overall, there are not enough good moments on " Leaves Turn Inside You" to sustain you through the mediocre and the average. And that is why I could not give the album a higher rating.
Rating: 6/10
