 
Chris Spencer finally had enough running the drive thru at Arby’s
and decided to bring back his beloved band, Unsane. It’s been
7 years since the last release, Occupational Hazard, pulverized my eardrums
with its distinctly noisy style. Fast food gigs do strange things to
the soul, so I was a little worried that Spencer might have gone all
“born again” or something. Fortunately, Blood Run is as
ugly and defiant as any of Unsane’s previous efforts. Many of
the usual “Unsane-isms” are displayed; tricky time signatures,
agitated, distorted vocals, and dissonant, clanging guitar lines make
for an intensely complicated listen. Some new elements, like the funk-esque
chug-a-lug of “Got It Down”, remedy a slight case of monotony.
There are even hints of “groove” (Steve Albini’s favorite
word!), which are a welcomed divergence from the overriding theme of
dissonance on Blood Run. It’s hard to compare Unsane to other
bands. Along with Jesus Lizard, The Cows, and Helmet, Unsane were pioneers
of the noise rock genre. While those bands previously mentioned are,
for all intents and purposes, done, Unsane continues to operate at a
high level. Instead of using the fine wine analogy, I’ll go with
the following: Unsane are like Lance Armstrong in that they continue
to kick ass and get better as they age. Go Lance -Tour 2005! - Andrew
Andermatt
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Unsane