Random Acts of Total Control

The French foursome Unschoolings debut album, Defensive Designs, was a giddy blast of twitchy and melodic post-punk that placed them firmly in the line of like-minded bands that stretches from Wire to Omni. Their breathtaking guitar gymnastics and vocalist Vincent Fevriers energetic delivery gave them an edge over many of their contemporaries and promised great things for the future. Fast forward a couple years and the group are back with an EP titled Random Acts of Total Control that has all the inventive verve of their debut while delivering more punch and excitement. More Is More is both the title of the bracing leadoff track and the approach theyve taken on these recordings. They forsake any thoughts of restraint and pack the arrangements with all sorts of noise. Guitars buzz and twang, horns blast in the distance, piano chords appear out of nowhere, and the vocals ping around the mix unpredictably. Theres never a dull moment on songs like Social Chameleon that pit the rhythm section against the guitars in a whiplash brawl while Fevrier does a baby Mark E. Smith impression or Boo Boo Dragon, which struts with an angular swagger. Even the tracks that dial down the post-punk weirdness come across all knotty and tumble out of the speakers joyously. No Shoes balances sections that come as close as they ever will to a ballad with some raging moments of furious riffing, and the EP-closing NYE sports their most pristine melody and still rocks as hard as the Strokes at their toughest. The record serves as the bands coming-out party, letting the indie rock world know that there is a new challenger to the post-punk throne. More releases as good as this, and they will be sitting alone atop that ever-growing heap. ~ Tim Sendra