#626 The Unicorns - 2014 EP

Here's The Unicorns in microcosm: three tracks (plus a demo version of the title track) that outline their style, each a chorusless, manic little blast of pop. 2014 builds tension on the backs of noisy synths and future disco skitters before breaking out into joyous raveup desperation. Emasculate the Masculine marries funk guitar chug so post-punk guitar crunch, frosted with squonky square wave solos. Finally, Evacuate the Vacuous gives us a taste of the whisper quiet bomb shelter crooner Unicorns, breaking into sunlight only briefly before retreating into darkness, maybe forever.

The first two tracks would have been standouts on a second Unicorns album, the one that never came. 2014 itself, despite bearing some of the Unicorns hallmarks, served to take their sound in a strange, dancy new direction, one we'll tragically never see fleshed out. So we're left to pick over scraps and bones. Such pretty bones. Miss these guys 4/5