Unwound winds up

It's St. Patrick's Day. Conventionally, you're supposed to go to the bar, get completely drunk, eat corned beef and cabbage and listen to Irish folk music.

If you're feeling a bit unconventional this year, take a trip into outer space with the most un-Irish of bands, Unwound.

There won't be any mandolins, but there'll be plenty of distortion, strange guitar loops and off-kilter timing. Unwound is the punkest of punk bands - a group unphased by labels and comparisons, unbounded by standard walls or rules.

PREVIEW
	Unwound Magic Stick, Detroit Tonight at 7

Formed in 1991 in Olympia, Wash., Unwound has carved its own unique niche in the world of noise. The band has received loads of critical acclaim, as well as praise from other bands in the punk world, calling them the window into the future of music. When asked about that, vocalist and guitarist Justin Trosper replied sarcastically in a recent interview, "We are the future of music! If you don't know it now, you better get a fucking clue! We rule!"

Since the band's debut self-titled album in 1991, Unwound has released five albums on Kill Rock Stars, each release more interesting than the last. From the extremely noisy roots of the first three albums, Unwound has since toned down its sound to incorporate more sonic tension, a decision Trosper said was a conscious one.

"Especially on the new record I wanted to musically not do the same with voices and guitars." Trosper said. "On the first couple records, every space is filled with feedback, so I decided to leave those open and play a little more sparingly."

Released in January, "Challenge For A Civilized Society" continues Unwound's quest for truth as Trosper examines the media and its seemingly plastic facade. "That's like the cliché ... (plastic) describes all the future ... like manufactured qualities, personality clones and things," Trosper said. The first track on the disc, "Data," states the effect of the media on society: "Generations information paralyzed by movie lies. No solution to the pollution. Useless data bores the masses. Obsolete ideas meet human need for fantasy. False alarm."

"Challenge For A Civilized Society" is a musical journey, which begins on Earth. Almost midway through the instrumental "Sonata For Loudspeakers," the band seems to have been reprogrammed by some outer force. An eerie trumpet sounds, and instantly the music is transformed into an abstract swirl of feedback, maniacal reverb and a cloudy sense of reality. The album ends with another instrumental, taking the listener off into nothingness. When asked if Unwound had ever been abducted by aliens, Trosper said, "I don't know. Sometimes people don't find that out until much later."

Aliens or not, Unwound's attack on the senses is not of this planet. The band's music only becomes more concrete live, where the music takes on new forms which cloud the mind with dense imagery and confusion before dropping the listener back down into his safe little world. So if you're feeling adventurous, leave the leprechaun and Irish drinking songs behind, and delve into the unknown future with Unwound.

03-17-98