Hyperbolic statements about the death of indie rock are a dime a dozen, but they’re hard to ignore. As overall music sales decrease, groups like Vampire Weekend and The National find themselves breaking into the Billboard Top 10. At the same time, the lucrative and all-encompassing branding gimmick we know as indie rock bears no relation to the sound that Lou Barlow remarked had “gone big” in 1991. The last decade has seen indie rock become a catch-all term for anything from the somnambulatory melodic pop of Grizzly Bear to the sample-driven ADD novelty of Girl Talk –- in short, whatever Pitchfork deigns to cover.
The list of indie rock bands that actually rock nowadays is pathetically short, so it was with welcome ears that I put on the latest record from Atlanta’s Untied States, Instant Everything, Constant Nothing. Like any good indie rock band, Untied States wear their influences on their sleeves without resorting to base imitation. Elements of The Fall, the guitar sound of Polvo, and the ideology of progressive-minded Dischord bands all filter into the mix, but nothing comes off as an overt reference or obligatory aural namecheck. For every overdriven noisy blast like “Take Time For Always,” there’s a more blatantly gratifying tune such as “Holding Up Walls.” The mix of indie canon influence with experimental tendencies complemented by a unique sonic palette most closely aligns Untied States with those triumphant standard bearers of contemporary art rock, Liars.
How could I not love Untied States? They hail from one of the least hyped music scenes in the country, their band name is difficult to Google, and they play a style of indie rock that has fallen severely out of fashion. They remind me of what my 16-year-old self found compelling about indie rock in the first place: passionately played rock music delivered without regard to genre constrictions or shifting trends. So minimize that Brooklyn Vegan tab you’ve always got open, cancel your download of that Arcade Fire leak, turn up the hi-fi, and rock out to Untied States.
United States, “Take Time For Always” (Instant Everything, Constant Nothing, Distile Records)
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Instant Everything, Constant Nothing is available now from Distile Records.
Words: Max Burke
Tags: Constant Nothing, Distile, Instant Everything, Take Time For Always, Untied States