Boundaries are there to be blurred. Demarcations exist only to be ignored. Generic fences, to be leaped. Barricades, stormed. At least, this is the attitude and approach that seems to run through most of the bands that I find appealing. It is an attitude that, consciously or otherwise, runs through the music that Unlettered makes.
Take “Dither,” the opening salvo of his latest album, Five Mile Point. Not only does it start in a gnashing, post-punk meets industrial place before settling on a more abrasive ambiance, if such a thing exists, but it makes the transition via a neat change of beat, from skitting offbeats and energetic drive to a half-time groove.
“Median Coverage” is more cinematic, a blend of swampy riffs and spoken-word vocals. “The Great Dwindle” is dark and brooding, with pulsing basses doing the lion’s share of the sonic lifting. “Leave Behind” is a warped take on shoegaze, one shot through with gothic undertones (hey, that would make for a great tribute band). The final track here, “Services Rendered,” takes us out via the same squalling sonic storm that ushered us in.
Like all good music, you can’t pigeonhole what Unlettered does, and Five Mile Point brilliant swirls and spirals between sonic worlds confounding anyone trying to tag it or tie it down. Just as all great music should.
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