This 1995 - 1997 discography collection from Baltimore, MD trio The Unheard Ones presents an appropriately D.C.-adjacent brand of warm, surging '90s emo with a slightly noisier and more rugged side. There's a nice balance of raw jangle and at times caustic texture with passages that possess more of a bright fluidity, while the vocals similarly traverse from half-spoken to semi-sung or even shouted. The LP opens with four tracks from the group's only proper (i.e. non-demo) release, which had been a rare CD EP originally issued through Hat Factory Records in 1997. Three more tracks from that same recording session follow, previously unreleased or having appeared on relatively obscure compilations of the era. Then there's the five-song demo from 1996, which has more of a live-feeling density, and especially in tracks like "The Unheard Ones" heads into some punkish tempos/energy.
The Bandcamp download additionally includes five bonus tracks from 1996—three from a live set, one captured on a boombox at practice, plus a cover of Joy Division's "Heart and Soul." It's cool that these are all unique compositions, too—they're not just live or practice renditions of songs that were later reworked in a proper studio. Oh, and the download also includes a PDF of the enormous booklet (more on that below).
All in all, the LP runs about a half-hour, with another 14 minutes for the bonus tracks.
The release is limited to 500 copies on red vinyl housed in a four-color matte chipboard sleeve alongside an utterly massive 32-page booklet. The 10" × 10" booklet—which is really more of a full-on zine—is packed with loads of photos, flyers, lyrics, ephemera and liner notes from the likes of Colin Seven (Universal Order of Armageddon), Tonie Joy (Moss Icon), the band's pre-breakup drummer Chy Lin, mastering engineer Jessica Thompson, and numerous others regarding The Unheard Ones' impact within the area scene; as well as surviving band members Lisa Starace (bass) and Tim Kabara (guitar/vocals)—the latter having been interviewed herein by producer/engineer Chris Coady. There are also studio notes, a list of live shows, a discography breakdown, an extensive list of credits, etc. Plus, the coolest download code insert I've ever seen: made out to look like a handwritten City of Baltimore transmittal memo describing the details of what the download contains, printed on matte lightweight vellum-esque paper as if it were ripped right off the memo pad or something. It's gotten to the point lately where some of the new releases that I buy don't even credit the fucking band members, so the depth and attention to detail here is absolutely amazing and exactly how it ought to be. Above and beyond, even. Just, holy shit, wow.
This collection has also been compiled in honor of The Unheard Ones' late drummer Eli Jones, whose musical legacy has been documented through elilives.tumblr.com, and a portion of the release's proceeds are being donated to MusiCares.
When it comes to retrospective discography releases, it doesn't get much better than this. Much respect to Handstand Records and all involved for taking the time to really make this something extra special. Excellent.
Get It
- Handstand Records (LP)
- Bandcamp (LP, mp3)
- Apple Music (stream)
- Spotify (stream)
