One listen, and I think I got a lot out for this one. It’s a linear writing and it’s a bit loose, too. It doesn’t read as well as it could, but I captured the song well.

Unwound’s “Sonata for Loudspeakers” is from Challenge for a Civilized Society.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A sound of sorts before the percussion comes in, and that sound remains. It’s quiet, almost. Another, like a string being hit in an unexpected way before guitar fills out the space, with bass somewhere in there, playing with a fragility. The percussion takes on more space and they follow this sort of descent before switching around.

Guitar is playing with a bit more life, as is bass though bass remains quiet, but prominent. Percussion plays a bit more full, and soon everything really comes to life. Everything becomes big, but remains quiet. But there’s more energy there before shifting to something similar to the first section.

A bit more ragged, however, and a few more angles; a few more corners. There’s a darkness to it; a bite and menace, but it’s not the whole thing, and it’s not long before there’s a bit more space again. It’s a bit more space and reflection perhaps. It feels like a winding down, almost, though it clearly isn’t.

Back to that section before becoming livelier again, and it seems to hold in the air before the greater release, which seems to last a little less time than previously. A bite and menace once more before something that could either be a violin or synth comes in to add its own shape and colour. And soon it’s brass, though it may have been there before, and it descends, almost, and rises and falls over this ragged landscape before leaving. Soon after, the other sounds stop and the song ends.