The Unit Ama take their time. They act on their own terms.
This applies to their music and their work-rate. Two albums and a handful of singles in twenty years. Sporadic gigs. No endless Bandcamp messages or weekly mailing list updates. Rare missions outside their native north-east.
And then…
Toward is their second studio album and their second Gringo release. It’s not their ‘pandemic’ album but does see the band considering the important things: post-traumatic growth, insight through experience. Utilising the past to navigate towards a meaningful future.
Toward was self-produced and will probably get tagged as post-hardcore which is fair enough. But it’s also informed by post-punk, jazz and folk, and by working closely together for two decades. The Unit Ama play in other incarnations that inform their music and the way they dismantle expectations of the rock trio. There’s as much Richard Thompson as Minutemen.
Toward takes the exploratory, explosive sound of their debut and adds twenty years of living and listening. Toward is eight tracks that are thoughtful and intricate without losing any impact. This is gut music as much as it is head music. The Unit Ama never let their abilities get in the way of their instincts and Toward is full of surging urgency and roaring anxiety. But there are moments of brooding calm too, and a song – Mary – that could be stripped down and sold as a folk ballad.
You can listen to the track ‘Observe Yourself’ HERE – it’s ominous and heavy, but still manages to crackle with energy and fire and is a perfect illustration of the aural treats that comprise ‘Toward’.
You can pre-order ‘Toward’ HERE:
The trio are:
Christian Alderson – drums
Jason Etherington – bass
Steve Malley – vocals and guitar
Find The Unit Ama online at:
They also play variously as The Long Lonesome Go, Archipelago, The Horse Loom and more.
They have supported everyone from Fugazi to Lungfish, Lightning Bolt to Sunburned Hand of the Man
Toward. FFO: Sustained exercises in tension. Personal healing. Dischord Records.
