Originally published in Verbicide issue #4

When I see an album cover with a bunch of pink-mohawked punks flipping me off and a shout-out in the liner notes saying “fuck off to shit talkers!” I feel slightly irked. I appreciate that The Unseen are trying to make noble political and social commentary (such as the anti-racism eighth track, “No Master Race”), but the redundancy of this derivative punk rock posturing shadows the intended messages. If you’re going to make music with a serious and knowledgeable message, this clichéd approach doesn’t really cut it. Despite my qualms, this Boston band is really quite good, musically. This is their third full-length album, and their fans are sure to appreciate that they’ve stuck to their aggressive street punk sound.

(BYO Records, PO Box 67609, Los Angeles, CA 90067)