In a recent interview, Unsane frontman Chris Spencer made a crack at the expense of Blues Traveler, perfectly exposing the very ‘90s sensibility that still rages inside him. To Spencer, who with his band has spent almost 20 years knifing the entrails out from New York City’s underbelly, music’s for exposing and even inflicting wounds, rather than covering over or healing them. And while rock, the city, and many other things may have moved on, Unsane’s mess remains a glorious one. Spencer’s got rusted sewage mains for pipes, and the band rumble like heavy machinery even in their most nimble moments. “Wreck” (Alternative Tentacles), their first album since 2007, out-bludgeons any other disc released so far this year. (It’s out Tuesday.) Our track-by-track breakdown was written in real time, as we submitted ourselves to each song, rating each one out of 10. Stream three of them at the bottom of the page.
“Rat”
Sound: Simultaneously lithe and lurching.
Theme: Dehumanizing urban life.
Key lyric: “This filth is all that you know … So unclean!”
Rating: 8/10
“Decay”
Sound: Chiming, pretty; broken apart, rusted.
Theme: Consequences, possibly as they relate to romantic entanglement.
Key lyric: “Look at this shit we’re in … all hope has gone away.”
Rating: 9/10
Stream below.
“No Chance”
Sound: Swaggering, alarm-like.
Theme: Alienation as it bleeds into revulsion.
Key lyric: “You’re too close, but just out of reach … You live in distress, just like the rest.”
Rating: 8/10
Stream below.
“Pigeon”
Sound: Mopey but propulsive.
Theme: Self-sabotage.
Key lyric: “You know you should have accepted someone … Each night as I lay in my bed, I can’t help but feel you’re better off dead.”
Rating: 7/10
“Metropolis”
Sound: Breakneck, knotted.
Theme: Life’s small opportunities for growth and betterment.
Key lyrics: “I’m lost — at what cost? Take what you get from this, and try not to miss.”
Rating: 7/10
“Ghost”
Sound: Straightforward and churning, with a chilling bridge. (See: key lyric, below.)
Theme: The dangers of conformity.
Key lyric: “Live like you’re a ghost — what you wanted the most.”
Rating: 8/10
Stream below.
“Don’t”
Sound: A slow, greased-up — sleazy — tempo.
Theme: Unclear. Possibly something related to sex or sexual dysfunction.
Key lyric: “Gonna make you sick … Can’t do it twice. No, there won’t be a next time.”
Rating: 7/10
“Stuck”
Sound: Rough and ballad-like, with twangy slide guitar, then ten times as loud, then back again.
Theme: Addiction (to “pills”). And possibly hope.
Key lyric: “I’m waiting here for this to end.”
Rating: 6/10
“Roach”
Sound: An atmosphere of watchful paranoia, over a racing heart.
Theme: The real and imagined dimensions of anxiety and fear.
Key lyrics: “Land of the free. Try and compete.”
Rating: 7/10
“Ha Ha Ha” [Flipper cover]
Sound: Dumb as rocks.
Theme: The freedom and joy of mocking capitalism’s dispiriting limits.
Key lyrics: “We go downtown to do our shopping, and we work in suburbia, but I say: AH HA HA HA HA HA, AH HA HA HA HA HA, EH HEH HEH HEH, AH HA HA HA HA HA …”
Rating: 9/10