Shuga / Charm Co-op (2025)
Until I was sent this album to check out, I hadn't heard of Uniflora. Didn't know a thing about them or what I was in for until I started this up for the first time. My first thought being, 'well that's a very Pixies sounding bass line they're starting off with.' Which, if you are going to try to get me interested in an album, making me think about the Pixies isn't the worst way to keep me listening. Uniform doesn't really sound anything like the Pixies aside from those opening moments, but the bass playing stands out on pretty much every song.
I don't feel like I write about a lot of albums and focus on how much I like what the bass guitar is doing, but this is a unique album in that regard. The songs on here are wildly different as the album progresses. Slower, math-y ones lead into faster noisy ones lead into sort of poppy ones and every single time the bass is doing something unique and exactly what it should be doing to make the song sound interesting and stand out. The fact that the drumming is locked in creating a super tight rhythm section only helps to accentuate that.
They lay the foundation which allows the guitar to play a different role in each of the different styled songs. This is a band that can take chances and succeed when they try something different, which even today I think is something not many can do. The vocals that tie everything together lean towards the monotone. Think So Cow or Eddy Current Suppression ring. Sometimes they work perfect for the song, other times it might be nice if there was a bit more emoting. But musically, this is a really interesting album to listen to and I'm glad it was sent along. If you like some post punk math Midwest type stuff, they're worth checking out.
Uniflora - More Gums Than Teeth: