Repetition
Studio album by
Unwound
ReleasedApril 9, 1996
RecordedJanuary 1996
StudioJohn and Stu's (Seattle, Washington)
Genre
Length44:56
LabelKill Rock Stars
Producer
Unwound chronology
Unwound
(1995)		 Repetition
(1996)		 Challenge for a Civilized Society
(1998)

Repetition is the fifth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Unwound, released on April 9, 1996 by Kill Rock Stars. It was recorded in January 1996 at John and Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington and produced by Steve Fisk and John Goodmanson. The album has been hailed as a masterpiece among those in the punk rock scene.[3]

Recording and release

Repetition was recorded in January 1996 at John and Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington and produced by Steve Fisk and John Goodmanson.[5] The band sought a more "studio-oriented" approach than their previous albums and experimented new sounds with keyboards.[6] The word "Repetition" was chosen as the album's title because, according to singer and guitarist Justin Trosper, "I like that word. It sort of describes a lot of things. People have said that our music is repetitious. So I thought it would be funny if we called out record that. Plus it's our fifth record, so we're like repeating things over and over".[6] Repetition was released on April 9, 1996 by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars, which also released the band's previous three albums.[7] The song "Corpse Pose" was released as a single on March 11, 1996, featuring an outtake, "Everything Is Weird", as the B-side.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Boston Phoenix[2]

The album received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Blake Butler described Repetition as the band's "most sleek and mood-encompassing album."[8] Megan McCarthy of CMJ New Music Monthly opined that the album features "a sound that is polished and paced, tethering its bass-driven ferocity to tingling melodies", but also admitted that some songs such as "Fingernails on a Chalkboard" are too repetitious.[9] Matt Ashare, writing for Boston Phoenix, stated that Repetition "mixes in a dub-heavy instrumental reminiscent of early PiL ('Sensible'), a high-pitched feedback frenzy buoyed by a stark funk backbeat ('Fingernails on a Chalkboard') that recalls Gang of Four's 'Anthrax', elegant Tom Verlaine-style guitar lines, and skronk punctuated by synth noise that harks back to the heyday of Captain Beefheart ('Corpse Pose'). The likes of Rancid and Green Day pale in comparison to the challenge of Unwound: this is the real punk rock."[2]

Track listing

All music is composed by Unwound

No.TitleLength
1."Message Received"3:05
2."Corpse Pose"3:05
3."Unauthorized Autobiography"2:47
4."Lowest Common Denominator"4:31
5."Sensible"3:00
6."Lady Elect"5:37
7."Fingernails on a Chalkboard"4:56
8."Murder Movies"1:48
9."Next Exit"4:30
10."Devoid"3:13
11."Go to Dallas and Take a Left"4:13
12."For Your Entertainment"5:39
Total length:44:56

Personnel

Unwound

Technical

References

  1. ↑ Sacher, Andrew. "18 landmark emo & post-hardcore albums from 1996". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Matt Ashare. "Repetition". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 2005-03-10. Retrieved 2005-03-10.
  3. 1 2 Daniel Mitchell. "No Future of What..." Ink 19. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. ↑ "Unwound - Repetition". Rough Trade. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ↑ Repetition (CD booklet). Unwound. Olympia, Washington: Kill Rock Stars. 1996.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. 1 2 Mike Noren (1997-05-16). "Unwound". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on 1997-02-06. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  7. 1 2 "Unwound". Kill Rock Stars. Archived from the original on 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  8. 1 2 Blake Butler. "Repetition". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  9. ↑ Megan McCarthy (June 1996). "Repetition". CMJ New Music Monthly (34): 46. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
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