22 Dec 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Mister Unit - Album Review: Wake Me When We Get To Utopia

31 May 2022 // A review by Kev Rowland

There are times when nothing will hit the spot like a dirty filthy good old-fashioned hard-hitting rock and roll band, and that is exactly what we have here. If I didn’t know they were from Wellington I would have guessed possibly New York, as there is no way they sound Kiwi. Mister Unit are a quintet with three guitars who sound as if they have been raised on a diet of MC5, The New York Dolls, George Thorogood & The Destroyers and The Stooges while possibly taking something from The Angels and even AC/DC. This is solid real rock music, with a rhythm section that sets the foundation and keeps it tight with the three guitars swapping leads – I mean, one of them is playing a Flying V!

Add to that the lead vocals which sound like a cross between Dan McCafferty, Danny Joe Brown and Iggy and we have a punkish hard hitting rock band that is guaranteed to have a good time on the stage while the punters have a great one off it. There is nothing particularly clever about what they are doing, with all three guitars following the same riffs at times (some nice basslines though, must be said), but they are all locked in and one can feel the sweat and temperature rise. When one gets to the penultimate track one is settled into the groove, which is then knocked out as they play Postcards From Hell, a song written from the point of view of a couple that have been together far, far too long, and is presented in the form of a Pogues-like waltz, with mandolin, 12 string guitar, electric guitar, bass and fiddle, courtesy of Kate Marshall. Of course, there must be a wife telling the story of how she wants to kill the husband as well as vice versa, and Rain steps up to the mark to assist in creating a song which is so at odds with the rest that the first time I played it I checked if I was still on the same album! For me this is the standout track, and then they end with the title cut which sees them get back to the norm, yet somehow it feels more epic due possibly to what has just gone before.

This is a great party rock band, one which thrives in the live environment, and with this album they have songs which provide the vehicle for them to have loads of fun, as does anyone giving this a listen. Solid and unpretentious, this is honest and raw, straight from the heart.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

About Mister Unit

From the fiery depths of Sonic mayhem, the dirty old rock’n roll band Mister Unit present themselves for your entertainment with boundless energy and songs that drift across time, space and style. We are Andrew, Gaz, Mishy, Simon and Pete.




Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Mister Unit

Releases

Wake Me When We Get To Utopia
Year: 2022
Type: Album

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem