The Future of What

Unwound’s evolution from scrappy, cathartic post-hardcore outfit to visionary art-rock ensemble was a gradual one, and their third LP, The Future of What, finds them at a marvelously assured midpoint on that creative journey. Some of the band’s hardest hitting material is here: “Petals Like Bricks,” for example, where Justin Trosper’s whirring guitar and raw shouts ring out over the burly trudge of bassist Vern Rumsey and drummer Sara Lund; or snarling, walloping noise-punk anthem “Here Come the Dogs.” But so are subtler mood pieces (“Disappoint,” “Re-Enact the Crime”) and enigmatic textural interludes (“Pardon My French,” “Vern’s Answer to the Masses”). Overall, the record handily demonstrates why the trio are revered as one of the most versatile and inspired indie-rock acts of the ’90s and early 2000s.