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Unrest

Unrest

D.C. art-punks turned minimalist pop stylists who helped define the sound of pre-grunge college rock.

APPLE MUSIC

Six Layer Cake

Unrest

About

MOODS · wiry · ironic · minimalist · propulsive · melodic · DIY · art-punk · nostalgic · restless · danceable

BIOGRAPHY

Unrest formed at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, when Mark Robinson, Tim Moran, and Phil Krauth began playing together, developing an early habit of never repeating a song twice and drawing on influences ranging from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone. Robinson also used the band as a springboard for his TeenBeat label. When Bridget Cross (formerly of Velocity Girl) joined on bass in 1990, the group's sound tightened into a minimalist, propulsive pop style, evident on 1991's breakthrough single 'Yes, She Is My Skinhead Girl' and the albums Imperial f.f.r.r. (1992) and Perfect Teeth (1993, released via 4AD). The band split in 1994, later reuniting briefly in 2005 and 2010.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Unrest's evolution from freewheeling noise experiments to the taut, New Order-inflected pop of Perfect Teeth captures a pivotal moment in American indie rock, when DIY scrappiness met melodic ambition. Bridget Cross's basslines, indebted to Peter Hook, and Mark Robinson's Factory Records fixation gave the band a sound that felt both ironic and sincere, earning them a reputation as a cornerstone of early-90s college rock before grunge reshaped the landscape.

ON WOKE-1

Played 6 times on WOKE-1.