Customer Reviews

United Nations

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4 star:		(1)
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The uniting of Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw and Geoff Rickley of Thursday to create the supergroup United Nations remains one of the most unexpected turns in modern music today. Palumbo, shedding the enthusiasm of Popaganda and Rickley shedding the atmospherics of Kill the House Lights to create one of the few perfect recordings of the year, not only in conception and execution but in aggression as well.

This record completely caught me by surprise. Not just because it exists, but because it's satisfies every expectation I could possibly have for it. One of the most confrontational records this year, this self titled release has enough twists and turns to be more than just your lo-fi, loud and angry punk album. Acoustic guitar graces "Filmed in front of a Live Studio Audience" before throwing it in your face. "Model UN" thrashes until a beautiful guitar tone rescues a melody. "The Shape of Punk That Never Came" cements and homages an influence. And a sax solo at the end? I'm sold, as long as I can only play it as loud as possible.

So I just received the limited edition artwork version in the mail today, I just finished listing to it for the 2nd time and I'm about to start the third spin. This rarely ever happens with me. I was drawn in at first because it was supposed to be all these guys from other bands doing a "real" screamo album. Seeing that Geoff always name drops the band You and I any chance he can, I knew it would be good. But forget about the whole super group thing, I don't even feel like I'm listening to something that is a gimmick, if this album came out ten years ago when I was listening mostly to screamo I'm sure this would be defining album of my life. This is seriously f**king amazing.

This album, a collective project from Geoff Rickly (Thursday), Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw, Head Automatica), Ben Koller (Converge), and members from other bands like the Number 12 Looks Like You, will have your ears bleeding at the bittersweet cacaphony in about one minute flat.

Scenesters beware! It is both cool to love this band for its throwback to the true screamo roots of the mid 90's, and to hate this band for being such a predictably "anti-scene" album from your favorite faggy jean wearing counter-culture popstars. You should immediately proceed on to the new Norma Jean album if you "don't get it" or find yourself feeling "so over it" or saying to yourself "soooo 10 years ago."

This album pulls very few if any punches. The overwhelming presence of dual guitar riffing harkens back to hardcore's punk roots, and the drumming is as brutal as a machine gun enema. The bass is expectedly grungy and serves merely to beefen up the bottom end.

Songs such as "The Shape of Punk that Never Came," "Revolution #9" and "Subliminal Testing" deliver an aural barrage akin to the b*stard child of Jane-Doe-era Converge and Thursday's least cohesive or melodic moments to date. Any old-school glassjaw fan who's been dying to hear Daryl's return to vocal form will undoubtedly be pleased with the thrashy screaming splattered all over this cd, like Tom Savini's blood in a slasher film.

The album is balanced out by a few breaks from form with strong tracks like "Filmed in front of a Live Studio Audience" and the closer, "Say Goodbye to General Figment of the USS Imagination," a dirge that showcases the diversely individual talents that have come together on this release. It doesn't hurt that the extended saxophone solo is remniscient of genre heavyweights Candiria or Yakuza, as it surely impresses upon the listener a sense of calm after the storm--even if that calm is eerily similar to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This album is so sick. If you like the heavier stuff Glassjaw put out, Thursday, and Coverge... Buy this. You won't be disappointed.

Listening to United Nations is like riding a rapidly ascending spiral into the eye of a storm. Turbulent throughout, and at times frenzied, UN is about as chaotic as hardcore gets without becoming atonal. There's a discernable melody in each song and, unlike many of the pioneering screamo bands UN pays tribute to with their debut album, there are actual chord progressions and clearly distinguishable song structures to be found. Furthermore, Geoff Rickly and Daryl Palumbo's vocals never clash or overshadow one another: both singers contribute equally and judiciously, resulting in an effective, if formulaic, singing/screaming dynamic. The album is substantially heavier than anything Thursday have recorded, but not nearly as fierce as anything from Glassjaw, Converge or any of the other acts the members of UN hail from, creating a balanced sound that falls somewhere between War All The Time and Jane Doe. The intentionally low-fi production may strike some listeners as contrived, or even pretentious when anyone with a basic proficiency with Pro Tools can fashion an album with reasonable tonal clarity, but it certainly suits an album which aims to revisit the roots of emotional hardcore. Replete with tension, adrenaline and emotional intensity, United Nations is Geoff Rickly and Daryl Palumbo's love letter to the post-hardcore genre.