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Schizotypic · 08-03-2009, 02:20 AM

Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone by The Unicorns. (2003)

The Before:
The album I got was Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone by The Unicorns. According to wikipedia, "The Unicorns were an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada, formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn (Nick Diamonds) and Alden Penner (Alden Ginger), who were later joined by Jamie Thompson (J'aime Tambour) in December 2003." The album I have is their third effort, made in 2003.

I really don't know what "indie" is to be honest, and I haven't listened to much of it. Some artists I have heard name-dropped on the forum as indie that I have are MGMT, The Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Though at least one of those is signed to a major record label, so "indie" obviously doesn't mean independent.

Some albums I see in the "Albums Your Digging II" thread, I think to myself "Well, that looks kinda indie I guess" and usually I get the feeling I wouldn't enjoy that album very much. I don't know why, I really haven't listened to much of the genre. I seem to have the same problem with pop.

I am able to say for an indie-pop band this exceeded my pre-conceived notions. Upon scrolling youtube and listening to Tuff Luff, I quickly felt I would enjoy this more then I expected. I heard this was progressive pop, the youtube video gave me insight into why that would be said, which raised my hopes.

The experience:
I spend time with the albums I devote myself to. I usually give it a spin as a background kind of listen, to get used to the sound of the songs, and when I'm ready I look up the lyrics and whatnot. Usually about the fifth listen I can fully appreciate the album (musically, lyrically, etc) and If it is good enough I'm thoroughly in love with it. I could not do this entire process with this album, as I don't do this by forcing myself- I have to want to do it.

I gave this it's first spin today while doing homework. I wanted to get used to the songs, I enjoyed it until the sound started feeling old. I'd say just about over half way through it annoyed me as it was making concentration hard, even for the mindless regurgitation work you get in high school. I kept listening to it. There would be points where the sound got under my skin, and then points of really liking it. This fluctuated.

Later in my free time I looked up the lyrics, they seemed interesting but not insightful or meaningful really, just kind of strange. I did not look them all up.

So, here's my review:
Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone is a strange and quirky listen with electro-pop hooks thrown into a creative arrangement of simple musicianship. The songs have a tendency to change around a bit, like progressive rock, but in a much less complicated way, and to a less extent.

My problem is that although the music is creative, catchy, and definitely not stagnant, it is stuck within the sound that is The Unicorns. What I'm saying is each song gives me an emotion similar to the emotion I got from the last song. So, because the lyrics aren't really a highlight, the product experience of it all is not much more then skin deep. I was taken to a land of electric rainbows and catchy sounds of pop, and it was fun, but all I did was stay there- and then after thirty or so minutes it wasn't really as fun... if you catch my drift.

Overall, the band seemed to make the sound they wanted to. They didn't copy anyone, and they aren't ridiculous, cliche, or stupid. I in no way can say the music or the band is in any way bad, and for that I give them props. Not for me though, just not my cup of tea. If you're into this sort of stuff, I recommend this. I suppose that doesn't mean much unless you've already listened to it though. Who knows though, maybe I don't get it, maybe i just need to give it more time. As of this moment, my personal rating of this album is...

4/10 If you don't like it, convince me otherwise.

08-03-2009, 02:20 AM	#495 (permalink)
Schizotypic Souls of Sound Sailors Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mojave Posts: 759	Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone by The Unicorns. (2003) The Before: The album I got was Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone by The Unicorns. According to wikipedia, "The Unicorns were an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada, formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn (Nick Diamonds) and Alden Penner (Alden Ginger), who were later joined by Jamie Thompson (J'aime Tambour) in December 2003." The album I have is their third effort, made in 2003. I really don't know what "indie" is to be honest, and I haven't listened to much of it. Some artists I have heard name-dropped on the forum as indie that I have are MGMT, The Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Though at least one of those is signed to a major record label, so "indie" obviously doesn't mean independent. Some albums I see in the "Albums Your Digging II" thread, I think to myself "Well, that looks kinda indie I guess" and usually I get the feeling I wouldn't enjoy that album very much. I don't know why, I really haven't listened to much of the genre. I seem to have the same problem with pop. I am able to say for an indie-pop band this exceeded my pre-conceived notions. Upon scrolling youtube and listening to Tuff Luff, I quickly felt I would enjoy this more then I expected. I heard this was progressive pop, the youtube video gave me insight into why that would be said, which raised my hopes. The experience: I spend time with the albums I devote myself to. I usually give it a spin as a background kind of listen, to get used to the sound of the songs, and when I'm ready I look up the lyrics and whatnot. Usually about the fifth listen I can fully appreciate the album (musically, lyrically, etc) and If it is good enough I'm thoroughly in love with it. I could not do this entire process with this album, as I don't do this by forcing myself- I have to want to do it. I gave this it's first spin today while doing homework. I wanted to get used to the songs, I enjoyed it until the sound started feeling old. I'd say just about over half way through it annoyed me as it was making concentration hard, even for the mindless regurgitation work you get in high school. I kept listening to it. There would be points where the sound got under my skin, and then points of really liking it. This fluctuated. Later in my free time I looked up the lyrics, they seemed interesting but not insightful or meaningful really, just kind of strange. I did not look them all up. So, here's my review: Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone is a strange and quirky listen with electro-pop hooks thrown into a creative arrangement of simple musicianship. The songs have a tendency to change around a bit, like progressive rock, but in a much less complicated way, and to a less extent. My problem is that although the music is creative, catchy, and definitely not stagnant, it is stuck within the sound that is The Unicorns. What I'm saying is each song gives me an emotion similar to the emotion I got from the last song. So, because the lyrics aren't really a highlight, the product experience of it all is not much more then skin deep. I was taken to a land of electric rainbows and catchy sounds of pop, and it was fun, but all I did was stay there- and then after thirty or so minutes it wasn't really as fun... if you catch my drift. Overall, the band seemed to make the sound they wanted to. They didn't copy anyone, and they aren't ridiculous, cliche, or stupid. I in no way can say the music or the band is in any way bad, and for that I give them props. Not for me though, just not my cup of tea. If you're into this sort of stuff, I recommend this. I suppose that doesn't mean much unless you've already listened to it though. Who knows though, maybe I don't get it, maybe i just need to give it more time. As of this moment, my personal rating of this album is... 4/10 If you don't like it, convince me otherwise. Last edited by Schizotypic; 08-03-2009 at 03:39 AM.