All Hail, The Unknown

Lots of bands are described as “unknown”. It's a decent descriptor - many bands are heretofore completely unknown outside of the artists who recorded them and a few friends and collectors. Well, this band from Baltimore is literally unknown - as in The Unknown.

Their records are more or less un-google-able since they’re by a band called The Unknown, and their debut album is self-titled. Even their German namesakes are much easier to find online! This post is their debut, and their excellent follow-up album together in one place (might make it easier to locate them in the future), (might not). The first time I listened to The Unknown in its entirety I was wholly impressed. Tracks on the album sound similar to For Against, Unforgettable Fire-era U2, Sport of Kings, Grapes of Wrath, and other similar melancholy guitar-based post punk bands. Even the weaker songs are only weak relative to the strength of the others and it was initially hard to choose a favourite song. The record starts off with Eternity, a surf-post-punk sound reminiscent of Abecedarians; The Clock, with its dissonant guitar screeches is certainly impressive, and when the band explodes during the chorus I can imaging it must have been excellent to see live. But the closing track, Songinsee, somehow manages to span 6 minutes and still feel too brief and it's the one that I found myself listening to on repeat. With several layers of shimmering guitars and lyrics about longing and loneliness, it's pretty much a perfect solemn pop song. I'm uncertain how it escaped the ears of record company execs to propel the band to stardom. It was 1987, so perhaps they thought The Unknown's sound was dated; it's certainly not as hip as mountains of teased hair, spandex, and novelty songs about cherry pie and girls, girls, girls who're smoking in the boy's room. But hopefully this post will give the album as a whole, a tiny bit of the recognition it sorely deserves.

While 1990 was an otherwise dark and barren period for this sort of sound (and perhaps that’s exactly why these two LPs couldn’t find a bigger audience), their sophomore record holds up as a worthy successor to the first. The general vibe is the same, though the band plays slightly heavier on this record, perhaps a reflection on the indie/alternative scene that was just starting to break at the time.  There’s nothing on this album that’s as perfect as “Songinsee” but it’s still a good listen from front to back.

This post is due entirely to the generosity of “A Viable Commercial” and “Systems Of Romance”

Ripped from the original vinyl albums, as there are no CD issues to MP3 @ 320kbps

The Unknown; The Unknown

A1.  Eternity 

A2.  I Wonder Why 

A3.  Perfect Ground 

A4.  The Clock 

B1.  Dear Mrs. Jones 

B2.  Slow Song 

B3.  Salvation 

B4.  Songinsee

The Unknown; Fall

A1.  Empty House Of Night

A2.  Reasons

A3.  Route 99

A4.  Handwriting

B1.  Green Room

B2.  As They Sleep (Rachael)

B3.  Fall