Tomorrow's Cliches Today

Sentiment...

Back from the ether.........bottle

OK...

After a year (yes, a year my dear) lost to a number of influences-Untied States is back at the helm of the blog ship...Not sure where the old bloggy stuff is, but we'll "think fresh"

So...what are we going to see here? substance. sustinence. things not for ourspace. new music leaks coming from our soon-to-be-finished record, live videos, dead videos, rehearsal versions of new material. very untied.

-Here goes

REVIEW | Movement Magazine

By Adam Naworal

Huh! This album is basically a melding of no wave’s skronk and avant-garde’s structure-free aspects. Surprisingly, it’s also a completely solid listen! At times this reminds one of everything from early Sonic Youth (circa CONFUSION IS SEX) to Labradford’s sonic experimentation, all while maintaining a distinct and very intriguing sound. Not recommended for those who like structure, but experimental rock fans and even free-improv types definitely have a lot to love here.

Tiny Mix Tapes Review

By Paul Haney
Rating: 3.5/5

The word "experimental" is perhaps fast on its way to becoming the most abused musical descriptor since "edgy" or "hardcore." Face it, any schmo can slab on the term "experimental" to whatever approximation of "pop" or "rock" they feel like pulling off, even if the so-called avant nature of their proposed work is frustratingly lukewarm at best. Add a dude with a laptop to your band, and apparently your laminated license for the dubious world of "experimental" music is ready to be handed out to you post-haste.

With so many folks patting themselves on the back with such cred-padding labels, it's inevitable that certain bands who really are "experimental" within their idiom are going to get overlooked. And why? Because most musicians who really are worthy of this term are going to put more than a few onlookers, even those within the indie world, off. Untied States, for all their post-punk distinctions, are a group of lads (core duo Colin Arnstein and Skip Engelbrecht, plus bassist and drummer) who can wear "experimental" truthfully and proudly. Their derailed discordance verges on the maniacal, in a way possibly not seen since the criminally-underappreciated Fire Show (if you don't know them, seek them out now) turned the sagging post-punk movement's guts inside-out with glorious violence to inattentive spectators.

That's not to say that Untied States have worked all the kinks out of their mission just yet. For all the bits of synthetic dissonance that are emitting out of some very disturbed pedals and processors, there's still a somewhat unpleasant undercurrent of post-hardcore growing pains. Like The Paper Chase, Untied States similarly sometimes let their minor key freak-outs play off less like compellingly realized neurosis and more like an ex-emo kid having a self-imposed schizophrenic attack.

Still, of all the bands out there who are trying to make their name known for originality, Untied States are damn sure doing their hardest to push their sonic blundering to a peak of innovational eminence. "Can't Get Around It" is easily Retail Detail's peak of excitement, the drunk-jazz intro giving way to a bossa nova beat perhaps used at a wicked séance party. Likewise, Retail Detail's best moments are when the band ditch the guitar-splattered conniptions like "My Cause Is My Curse" and "Martyrs Have Nothing To Live For" for some outright feed-everything-to-the-id weirdness, such as the carnival-sludge nightmare of closer "It's Not Enough" or the stittery goth-funk of "It's Not Goodbye."

So while Untied States' effort Retail Detail may warrant only a 3.5 in the end, it's the very enthusiastic 3.5 that so few bands could possibly hope to receive. Untied States harbor such a giddy creative energy that some concoctions of theirs are bound to come out a bit half-baked or overbundled, but with every by-the-book gang of indie rockers (*cough*Tapes 'N' Tapes*cough*) using their high Pitchfork scores as some kind of proof of relevance without ever actually trying something unfounded, it is rather disheartening that some young miscreants as adventurous as Untied States will be left squalling and squirming on deaf ears. Too bad, because if Untied States can be encouraged, illuminating sonics are sure to follow.

REVIEW: Exclaim! Magazine

By Liz Worth

Untied States make way for more noise than you’d think four people could be capable of. Sonic and textured, Retail Detail expands into enormously raucous soundscapes that weave noise, rock and samples. Untied States also escape into improvisation, integrating intense measures of unpredictability. There is also a strong sense of realness here, as this quartet’s belief in articulating their own self-portraits and personal experiences into their music come through. “It’s Not Goodbye” and “Immaculate” seem to collapse and shudder, breaking away in the vocal department while a wall of noise builds up all around. There is an element of the experimental here but the entire album remains accessible, so much so that it brings to mind Sonic Youth’s disharmonies, but in approach only. Untied States have created something far beyond the familiar and have strayed into a new place that only they have a key to. The ultimate impression is one of precariousness, as there are glimpses of delicate splendour and frailties that are always threatened by the potential of destruction that only seems a beat away.