Unwound
Live Leaves


4.5
superb

Review

by Chortles USER (18 Reviews)
December 24th, 2013 | 52 replies


Release Date: 2012 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Save your grace

By the time 2001 arrived and Unwound released Leaves Turn Inside You, the band was undoubtedly on the cusp of dissolution; after a decade of existence, the group saw a collective vision blurred by both the personal changes of its members and a weakening sense of purpose. Above all though, Unwound’s evolution makes the most sense of their looming split. For a band that seemed so fiercely committed to raising the bar for themselves with each release, an album like Leaves Turn Inside You provides for an almost certain breaking point, which evidently made its way into Unwound’s performances during their national tour in support of the record. Frontman Justin Trosper was dissatisfied with a good amount of the recorded material from the tour, so he and the band slaved over the tapes in hope of salvaging worthwhile moments from what would be Unwound’s last tour.

Fortunately, they were able to compile enough good stuff to be deemed worthy for the masses and thus, Live Leaves was born. Unsurprisingly, the band managed to choose some fantastic recordings of some of the best songs in their catalogue. Among those is “We Invent You”, which opens the album in identical fashion to its studio counterpart in that feedback dominates the song for several minutes until a plodding guitar line enters. Since most of the songs on the compilation are from Leaves Turn Inside You, Trosper’s sullen moans and the melancholic vibes from the opener dominate a large portion of the record. However, the band throws a piece of their early, raucous days with a ferocious performance of “Valentine Card”, as well as more recent pieces that recall these early roots (e.g. “Scarlette”, “Corpse Pose”) to vary the pacing. In the end though, the most breathtaking moments do come from the Leaves material, proved no better than by a beautiful performance of “Radio Gra” that closes the compilation. The reverb drenched guitars, supported by impeccably placed strings, gradually build over a simple pattern into a rare beauty that straddles subtlety and catharsis perfectly. It all ends almost as quickly as it begins; after a few short minutes it simply dwindles into obscurity, serving as a stirring close to Unwound’s incredible career and a testament to their legacy.



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user ratings (37)
4.1
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
Chortles
December 24th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

essential for any fans of unwound



merry christmas fellas

KILL
December 24th 2013


81580 Comments


omg

YoYoMancuso
Staff Reviewer
December 24th 2013


19316 Comments


holy crap Arboretum is on this fav Unwound song must get review rules pos

InfamousGrouse
December 24th 2013


4378 Comments


really hope you talk like that irl YoYo

Cygnatti
December 24th 2013


36129 Comments


hehehe

pos'd chorts :D

Chortles
December 24th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

thanks guys



not using commas is a way of life

KILL
December 24th 2013


81580 Comments


grammar on the internet is for fruits

Chortles
December 24th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

damn i should've reviewed thrice no one cares about unwound

hogan900
December 24th 2013


3332 Comments


Unwound is pretty damn ass kicking

Chortles
December 24th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

on occasion, can't be bothered to type out much more than this though. this needed a review



and not much brother just playin super meat boy aka best game ever to kill some time before celebrating

the holidays wbu

InfamousGrouse
December 24th 2013


4378 Comments


sometimes contemplate covering records that badly need doing but i get the impression they'll just be ignored so there's little point in putting in the effort to get around to it

YoYoMancuso
Staff Reviewer
December 24th 2013


19316 Comments


haha English was the only subject I was ever good at Grouse

Chortles
December 24th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

same usually but if i get enough of an urge to talk about an album i don't mind putting a bit of time

to write something up

menawati
December 25th 2013


16730 Comments


nice review chort, pos

Chortles
December 25th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

thanks pal

demigod!
December 25th 2013


49628 Comments


great review man, i gotta get more into this band cause they are awesome

pos'd

Chortles
December 25th 2013


21494 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

thanks man. and fersure, a lot of people only check leaves which is crazy since this band has an amazing discog

demigod!
December 25th 2013


49628 Comments


where should i go after leaves? work my way backwards?

PunchforPunch
December 25th 2013


7085 Comments


none

Atrophy
December 25th 2013


853 Comments


sweet review dude! have a pos.

demi i started with repetition and it was a great intro, only have that and leaves though so there could be something better to get into next



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