The Units - Digital Stimulation LP (1980) + "Work" from their 1979 EP
These folks were from San Francisco and just happened to be uncommonly good with synthesizers. Truly this is synthpunk, not synthpop. No guitars, just synths with both drum machines and regular drums. They had a really good drummer, too. They manage to make their synths sound aggressive and menacing in a rock and roll sense at times, and yet the tempo is usually upbeat. There are male and female vocals singing the same notes and words, robotically. They give you the impression they are just feeding you a catchy happy tune, when in fact they are just playing with you and being weird & arty. Also: their synths sound surprisingly undated to these ears. I encourage anyone who hears this to let me know what they think by commenting on my blog. Thank you!
4 comments:
I agree. These guys are great. I already had this but since I subscribe to your blog I figured I'd drop you a line. Keep up the good word!
taterprint
Thanks! Let me know if you have a blog yourself and I'll link you.
they were much ahead of their times and they rock hard up to the date.much thanx for the stuff...first i enjoyed their 1979 7" called High Pressure Days and it blew me away...now one more release - such a treat yeah.thanx once more.
I bought the single with: high pressure days, cannibals, cowboys,and work in 1981. Lost it 10 years ago and I've been looking for it ever since. Love this album. Thanks a million for putting it up.
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