Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You

_{2000 | Post-Hardcore, Indie Rock}

Considering the length, this album probably has the best sequencing of all time. Not a single dull moment in 75 minutes, even the more "interlude" type tracks like One Lick Less and Radio Gra are genuinely amazing. Compared to their earlier stuff, this album is a lot more focused and less varied. You're not going to get whiplash while listening like you would from albums like Fake Train; instead, it's like a steady acceleration building up to the two "centerpiece" tracks Terminus and Below the Salt. Of course, these two aren't the only good songs, but I'm convinced the sequencing only works as well as it does because of them. While both of these tower above the others in length, they provide great separation and break the album up really well. If they weren't in the tracklist the album would get painful to listen to by the end - it would be sensory overload; the songs are way too similar for it to work without them. They simultaneously act as a break from the rest of the album and as the main cathartic release due to the nature of the way they are structured instrumentally.

We Invent You is another curveball, specifically with how it starts the album off. In my opinion, it is the best intro track of all time. It's not necessarily my pick for best song that is an intro, but as an opener for the album in concept and in practice it is probably the best. The main reason is because of the first 2 minutes. The first 2 minutes of this track act as a "palette cleanser." The synth drone plays, and by the time you're invested in the chord it fades away to guitars. No matter what you listened to beforehand, it's wiped from your memory and you're completely encapsulated with the atmosphere of the album when the drums come in with Justin's vocals (which on this track are probably the best he's ever sounded). The whole idea is eccentric enough to be intriguing but accessible enough to be pleasing to the ear without multiple listens. It's such a genius way to start the album in my opinion.

Despite Terminus, Below the Salt and We Invent You being incredible in their own way, the rest of the tracklist is amazing as well. I genuinely don't understand how most of the songs on here are real, the whole album is simply unbelievable; I wouldn't be able to pick favorite tracks if I tried. Absolutely unreal music, one of the best albums of all time very, very easily.