Customer Reviews

Imperial Ffrr

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Okay, I am going to go out on a limb here and plug one of my favorite bands, Washington D.C.'s brilliant experimental indie-pop band Unrest. This album, Imperial F.F.R.R. (short for Full Frequency Range Recording) was originally released in 1992, and is a masterpiece of an album. Originally Unrest started as an artsy-hardcore act, and had released a couple of albums before this, but they remained undistinguished until bassist Bridget Cross joined the band in 1991, at which time they modified their sound into the artsy, minimalist indie-pop sound that is found here. Sadly, after releasing an EP and the Perfect Teeth album, they broke up in '94. This is, I believe, their best full length release. The songs actually display a rather wide range, from the infectiously catchy songs "Suki," "I Do Believe You Are Blushing," and "Cherry Cream On" to the artsy instrumentals tracks "Sugarshack" and "Champion Nines" (the latter uses various types of bells as instruments!). For a change of pace, the band delivers the great acoustic "Isabel," a tribute to painter Isabel Bishop (a subsequent EP was named after her, for which the song was re-recorded with a lusher, "Champion Nines"-ish backing). The centerpiece of this album is "Imperial" which (depsite its seven minute length) is absolutely gorgeous. I like playing the intro to this song on my guitar. The lovely, bass-driven "June" is, I have to say, nothing short of a hidden gem. This track is the only one on the album written by Bridget Cross, who also sings lead vocals on it, and I think her voice is very warm and very beautiful. This is my favorite song on the album (although "Imperial" comes in a close second). Unrest's musical vision strictly limited them to indie status (and they are all the better for it), but I still feel like I am the only one who listens to this band, and that's kind of a shame, really, considering how unique this band was. If you are a fan of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, the Strokes, or indie rock/alternative rock in general, then I highly recommend that you track this album down and listen to it. Unrest is a great band, and they deserve to be heard.

This album is an unrecognized classic and one of the best albums of the early 90's. Stylistically very diverse, it contains power pop songs like Suki and Cherry Cream On and slower, beautiful and fragile songs like I Do Believe You're Blushing and Imperial. If you're a fan of minimalist indie I can't recommend this album enough. If only today a band would come out and make something as innocent and beautiful as this...

Although Unrest records are way hard to find at music stores, this album is common in almost every record shop's stock and I think it resumes notabily the story of a great indie band from Washington D.C. The two catchieswt tunes, Suki and Cherry Cherry could be alterna-pop himns, while the exquisite I Think that you are Blushing touches the deepest legacyes of bands such as The Smiths. Undoubtly, the masterpiece here is Loyola, where Robinson and Co. take you to a trip of different muds guided by the excelent blending of the guitars. Unrest's other albums -particulary the firsts, like Malcolm X Park and Cath Caroll- are notable,being comparable only with Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted and the Watery Domestic EP, nevertheless it's a pity that almost all of them are no longer available. However, you can get to know part of this job by purchasing the F*ck P*ssy Galore (And All Her Friends) compilation.

In my opinion, this is Unrest's best album, and also one of the greatest albums I have ever owned. Listened to it for the first time while driving at night in the Hudson River valley in upstate New York, and it blew my mind.

Imperial is the album in which Unrest found its voice. For several album that preceded Imperial, Unrest dabbled in arty punk, lowbrow progressive rock, hardcore thrashing, pop melodies and whatever else seemed to capture their attention at the moment. Few acts ever successfully pull off that much eclecticism and Unrest was no exception. There may have been a few hints at what was to come, but Imperial largely dispensed with the noise and spontaneity, bringing exuberant minimalist melodies to the fore. On songs like "Suki" and "Cherry Cream On" the guitar is ablaze in strumming, taking cues from Big Flame, the early Wedding Present, or the New Zealand Flying Nun scene.

The songs are built on small repetitive melodies tastefully intertwining with male/female vocal duties. Frequently only two of the three instruments play at once, setting them apart from the maximum overload of much of what was trendy at the time (grunge, noise rock).

When this record came out it sharply divided the cognoscenti. While it had a strong contingent of supporters, others sneered at what seemed a watering down of indie ideals of the early 90s: rough edges, warts and dissonance. While many acts sought to sound organic and "real", Imperial was all artifice and glacial studio perfection, the artwork and production suggesting vintage Factory records. The innocent sounding vocal and ringing guitars "Cherry Cream On" will easily fool those not paying attention to its naughty undercurrent. And "June" is possibly the most darkly lovely song since the Chills etched "Pink Frost".

Years later it is clear that this record has stood up alongside 90's classics by My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, Stereolab, Nirvana, etc. Perfect Teeth built on this formula in a less minimalist and slightly less successful manner, and by the time of the Air Miami project it seemed as if their obsession with artifice has gone too far. But we'll always have Imperial and the great singles they put out around this time (some added on as bonus tracks for this reissue).