Unwound’s “Rat Conspiracy”: Like Nirvana, Minus the Pop Accessibility

Courtesy of Numero Group

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Unwound
Rat Conspiracy
Numero Group

Unwound Rat Conspiracy

Arguably America’s most inventive reissue label, Chicago’s Numero Group has built its reputation on thoughtful compilations of ultra-obscure ’60s and ’70s R&B, but excels at other kinds of music as well. Exhibit A: Unwound, the Olympia, Washington, punk trio that made a righteous racket throughout the ’90s through 2002. Check out the 32-track Rat Conspiracy, the second installment in Numero Group’s four-part survey of the band, and prepare to be electrified. Like Nirvana, minus the pop accessibility Kurt Cobain sometimes seemed to rue, Justin Trosper (vocals, guitar), Vern Rumsey (bass), and Sara Lund (drums) swing from pensive and subdued to furious and brutal—and back again—at the drop of a hat on these blazing ’93 and ’94 recordings, which encompass two albums plus 11 equally thrilling loose ends. If you’re seeking catharsis, here it is. (FYI, Trosper and original Unwound drummer Brandt Sandeno will return to action with the debut album of their new band, Survival Knife, in late April.)

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate