We are once again focusing on up-and-coming Melburnian, live artists that deserve to be seen in their full glory on stage.
Get to know each group with our fortnightly deep dives into their worlds and you might just want to grab a ticket to their next show!
This week we’re taking a look at the kooky rock outfit, Unscored. With two songs released on Spotify so far, the feedback heavy powered ‘Static’ and the psychedelically theatrical ‘Cowboy’, the band are gearing up for an exciting album release, one which inexplicably chronicles the human body through song. Consisting of lead singer Harrison, drummer Isaac, guitarist Daniel and self-proclaimed ‘basser’ Carter, the band do far more than just record and write songs.
Find your next favourite act. Check out the best new music from local and independent artists here.
“We’re completely DIY,” says Carter. “So Isaac does basically all of our art, Daniel does all our recording and our mixing, I work as our manager and organise all of our filming. We also do everything else that’s required of being a band. It’s full of fun times: and is sometimes stressful. But doing it this way gives us complete creative control, which is really nice.”
Their upcoming album release is titled Amorphous, which the band says is just as much of a summary of their album as it is their own sound as a band. “Every song is a different venture into a different genre. We’re all very different people with unique ideas who want to bring them together.”
I sat down with Unscored to chat about their ideas of music criticism and making monsters scary in songs.
Who would you say is your most unlikely source of inspiration?
The band draw on influences from all of their varied backgrounds as artists. “I taught myself how to play bass with learning old Motown songs, like Sam and Dave, and the Ungrateful Dead as well,” says Carter. “And I grew up learning traditional Scottish music on the cello, because I’m really white.”
Isaac’s musical taste more easily fits the band’s immediate genres. “I spent my early teens listening to mainly Green Day, Blink-182, Offspring: a lot of Linkin Park too.”
“I like musical theatre as well,” says singer Harrison. “I grew up doing a lot of musical theatre as a kid. To be honest, all of our songs have a theatrical feel to them. Everything’s a performance. Nothing we are doing should be taken seriously. Even the stuff that is done seriously.
“We all have different core backgrounds and we merge them together.” Their varied approaches culminate in interesting songwriting approaches. “One of our songs coming out is from the perspective of these insatiable monster-eating people. We really committed to that. How do we make it feel like this thing is actually charging toward whoever’s listening? It’s not making fun of the idea, it’s very serious. But then the next song is about picking your nose. That one is legitimately stupid though.”
As a band, what do you find yourselves arguing about the most?
“We got told in our tarot reading that we would have a clash over our image, but that hasn’t happened yet,” Harrison continues.
Regardless of the fate of their suspicious tarot reading, Unscored find themselves only at odds when unable to connect musically. “We’re all self-taught. But we all know how to do things we can’t explain. When we’re trying to communicate an idea or how something might sound, no one has the vocabulary to cut through to the point really quickly. So we have to do it in our own weird way: ‘No play it like that, give me the guitar,’ etc… but we get it in the end.”
What is one thing people should BYO to your gig?
“Rotten fruit and shit,” Harrison, I hope, jokes. “There’s no better indicator if people like a song than by throwing fruit at us. If you like a song, throw fresh fruit at us instead.”
What has been your worst gigging experience?
“We were given ten hours notice the day before. It was at the Bergy Seltzer. We were stuck in this tiny room, the four of us in a narrow kitchen area just crammed in there. All I could hear the whole time was Isaac’s drums, Harry couldn’t see any of us, for the first two songs we didn’t have vocal feedback. It’s not the Bergy’s fault, but it was super rushed. It was so small we weren’t able to look and interact with each other on stage. I also had no ear plugs so I stuck toilet paper in my ears.”
What is one band who you would be the support act for?
“Maroon 5!” Carter interjects over their bandmates. They say Maroon 5 a few more times, so I’m not quite sure if they’re joking anymore.
Their serious answer eventuates. “Ween. They’re also super varied like us. They take the piss too. You never know what you’re getting per song. I mean, they take the piss, but they also really commit to every song. They’re just very fun guys as well.”
Lastly, why should people who don’t know you come and see your gig?
“We offer a set with variety. We want to keep people guessing what kind of song we’re going to play next. But we also want it to be engaging. Especially in the nature of our songs. We do like to use imagery a lot. So going to see us play is like going to the movies with your ears!”
Check out Unscored on Instagram and Facebook for upcoming gigs and follow them on Spotify to hear their upcoming album.
