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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Repetition

Unwound

1996

Repetition

Album Summary

This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.

Repetition is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Unwound, released on April 9, 1996 by Kill Rock Stars. The album has been hailed as a masterpiece among those in the punk rock scene. The album received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Blake Butler described Repetition as the band's "most sleek and mood-encompassing album." Megan McCarthy of CMJ New Music Monthly opined that the album features "a sound that is polished and paced, tethering its bass-driven ferocity to tingling melodies", but also admitted that some songs such as "Fingernails on a Chalkboard" are too repetitious. Matt Ashare, writing for Boston Phoenix, stated that Repetition "mixes in a dub-heavy instrumental reminiscent of early PiL ('Sensible'), a high-pitched feedback frenzy buoyed by a stark funk backbeat ('Fingernails on a Chalkboard') that recalls Gang of Four's 'Anthrax', elegant Tom Verlaine-style guitar lines, and skronk punctuated by synth noise that harks back to the heyday of Captain Beefheart ('Corpse Pose'). The likes of Rancid and Green Day pale in comparison to the challenge of Unwound: this is the real punk rock."

Wikipedia

Rating

2.73

Votes

74

Genres

Submitter

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Reviews

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Jun 07 2025
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4

This is tense and dynamic and spiky – quite Slint-ian and vaguely Pere Ubu-esque in effect. The screaming early puts one off, but it gets better with slower/sparer passages (see "Sensible" and "Lady Elect") that suggest thoughtfulness and contemplation and ultimately deliver something like majesty. One would certainly trade this any of several other early punk bands (e.g., Minor Threat), primarily because it might merit a second listen.

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Jun 05 2025
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3

June 11, 2025 HL: "Next Exit", "Corpse Pose", "Lady Elect", "For Your Entertainment" You can really hear the sonic influence from classic post-punk/gothic rock. Especially Public Image & Gang of Four. Yet at the same time it doesn't come across as a retread of that time period at all. You know the (admittedly imperfect) subgenres stat for the original list? Well, it turns out there are only a handful that I rated below a 3/5 average- nu metal, hardcore punk, *post-hardcore, and noise rock*. So when I say this is like a 3.5, it beats out much of the competition. I would gladly axe one of the Sonic Youth 90s albums for Unwound to be included in the OG list. Edit: person who submitted this album is big on Sonic Youth, so... just kidding!

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Jun 06 2025
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4

Fantastic post-hardcore album by Unwound. I like Leaves Turn Inside You a bit better, though this one is a great listen too. Compared to the latter album it still has more up-tempo and edgy songs. I really like the baselines and the shaky vocals.

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Jun 06 2025
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4

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Unauthorized autobiography, Go to Dallas and take a left, For your entertainment

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Jun 06 2025
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4

The opening track made me fear I wouldn't like it very much. But from the next song on, it was much better

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Jun 13 2025
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4

Darkly hypnotic post-hardcore – I'd listened to the big hits but had somehow never given this LP a full run-through. While not every track hits as it should to keep things from dragging, the highs bring so much to the table that the duller sections are easy to ignore. Sharp, angular guitar lines, entrancing bass riffs, and some lockstep drumming make this an instrumental masterpiece and make the whole experience doubly chaotic yet logically coherent as a result.

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Jun 13 2025
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4

Alternative alternative music from the 90s! Never heard this before, but I enjoyed it.

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Jun 05 2025
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3

Very strange album. I think I would've liked it more if the vocals weren't constantly drowned out by all of the instruments.

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Jun 05 2025
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3

I generally liked this - I spent a lot of the time while listening to trying to figure out what it reminded me of. Pavement, Minutemen, and Sebadoh all came to mind, not bad company as far as I'm concerned, though a harder edge on this. As is so often the case in this genre, it loses me somewhat in that I cant make heads nor tails of 90% of the lyrics. And without being able to distinguish the words, my ear can only interpret the vocals as another instrument - and as an instrument they're not that great nor expertly wielded.

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Jun 07 2025
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3

Mix of shoegaze and sonic youth? It was alright

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Jun 12 2025
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3

Boring 90s alternative in the submitted list is becoming the early 80s post punk of the original list

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Jun 10 2025
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2

This was a middling album as it didn’t know whether it wanted to be more punk or more alt rock. Some heavy instrumental sessions that weren’t too complex other than being brooding or noisy. The lyricism is pretty simple and at times was comical repetitive with the disgust of life. Not something I’d revisit. 5.3/10

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Jun 11 2025
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2

Post-hardcore, punk rock, post-punk, hardcore punk. No me gusta. Un 2.

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Jun 11 2025
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2

Even without looking at a description, this is going to be post-hardcore. Just look at that cover and title. And oh boy am I not interested today. Yeah, it's post-hardcore. And it sounds exactly like every other album in this boring fucking genre. 2/5 and fuck you.

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Jun 16 2025
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2

A curate's egg. Bits of it were delicious.

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Jun 26 2025
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2

Not one for my archives I’m afraid.

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