United Mutation Dark Self Image LP

The specs on this years-in-the-making collection: complete sessions for UNITED MUTATION’s three earliest studio recordings, selections from which comprised the band’s Dischord EP and Mixed Nuts Don’t Crack LP contributions. Most of these 26 tracks have already resurfaced on various ’90s German compilations (the hype sticker notes six previously unreleased cuts) but the presentation here is meticulous enough to warrant interest from anyone who’s already got their other records. The gatefold jacket is covered—inside and out—with UNITED MUTATION’s bizarre collages, and the artwork continues alongside photos, flyers, and liner notes in the massive booklet. Geographically adjacent to the Washington, DC scene in the early ’80s, UNITED MUTATION lacked the musicality that marked many of their Dischord contemporaries (MINOR THREAT, the FAITH, SCREAM, etc.), instead crafting a rawer, more abrasive sound. The comparisons to VOID are not unfounded, especially on the unhinged Mixed Nuts tracks on side B. Check this one out.

• Reviewer Chris Hubbard
• Label Radio Raheem
• Issue MRR #445 • June 2020