Capturing the essence of live performances and immortalizing them on live albums is an art of its own that brings the energy of seeing your favorite band live right to your fingertips. The award-winning Numero Group achieved this form of art back in 2012 when they released Live Leaves, a collection of live recordings lifted from the highly-influential post-punk group Unwound’s final shows together.
As part of their 90’s Month, a month the Numero Group dedicated to reissuing some of their most famous releases from the decade, and with Live Leaves, they captured the frantic and nuanced live performances of Unwound’s final tour before their split in 2002. The reissue includes two bonus tracks but apart from that this version is almost identical to the original 2012 release and still holds up as a snapshot of a band whose legacy continues to influence musicians today.
What makes these recordings such an integral part of the band’s history is the lineup they toured with. The trio turned into a quintet with the addition of the original drummer, Brandt Sandeno, who played keys on this tour, and guitarist David Scott Stone. The addition of these two musicians adds depth to the textures portrayed through these live performances, just listen to their rendition of “No Tech” where the dusty, distorted keys of Sandeno add to the homegrown aesthetic that Unwound is proudly known for.
The way this album starts perfectly represents Unwound’s unique sound that made them the unsung heroes of their genre, a distorted white noise drones on and then bleeds into the pop-influenced guitar riff of “We Invite You”. Unwound’s attention to detail is captured in its full beauty during their live shows, they play to their influences so subtly that they meld with their own sound, creating a melody of originality that is emphasized by their live shows. The unpolished sound that bleeds through these recordings is the same DIY approach that gained the band their cult following. The elastic nature of Justin Trospher’s voice becomes less of a cornerstone during live performances and instead adds an extra splash of color and chraizma to Unwound’s repertoire.
What makes Live Leaves such an impressive live album is that they didn’t record only one show. All 37 shows from their 2001 tour were recorded and only the best of their performances made it onto the final cut. Does this take away from the magic that comes with the missteps of performing live? Not in this case, this collection of performances is so well mixed that you can barely tell that they were collected over the course of a full tour and this approach yet again speaks to Unwound’s deeply personal approach to crafting their albums.
The 20th-anniversary edition of Unwound’s Live Leaves is for diehard fans of the band. This direct-to-metal pressing of their classic live performances gives a crisper sound than the original, making sure we hear every crowd reaction and every note played in the final days of the band. With a 2023 reunion tour on the horizon, Live Leaves is being reissued at the perfect time and is a necessary listen before heading out to a show.
