Reviews of new releases from the Uri Caine Ensemble, Barcelona, and Unwound. Unwound A Single History: 1991-1997 (Kill Rock Stars) www.killrockstars.com Of related interest: Sonic Youth, Nuzzle's Follow for Now, wearing long-sleeve thermals under T-shirts The toughest part of being an Unwound fan is keeping up with the prolific, hot-wired band. Every couple of months, it seems, the Olympia trio drops another heart-seeking single. Unwound has distinguished itself by being more chuggingly, portentously dynamic in four-minute bursts than the clanging legion of broken-home kids who grew up pegging their Dickies jeans, staying out of the rain and demolishing electric instruments. This anthology of their singles is a bittersweet blessing: All the bedroom-wall-denting hits are collected in one place, even as the avid collector's hard work obsolesces. "Mile Me Deaf"'s poisoned pep-rally drumming jump-starts the disc as singer Justin Trosper's ringing guitar speeds ahead, losing a game of chicken against itself. Drummer Sara Lund's heavy hitting scares "Mkultra" to quick heights before crashing in a heap of blinking beats and scarred musical tissue. The dub-doused "The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is a Train" sways like a booze-hound trying to light his cigar on the overheated engine of his jalopy. Trosper's unwashed ululations register a man straining to be heard above the techno-din of a fractured world. This is the best album of the year. Really. Mac Montandon   Barcelona simon BASIC (March Records) www.marchrecords.com/ Of related interest: Figurine, My Favorite, Human League In case those of us who dodged bedtime to watch Battlestar Galactica need another reminder that we're no longer virile spring chickens, D.C. quintet Barcelona has produced a pop album that makes ColecoVision seem like a fresh memory of only yesterday. Unlike some of its indie contemporaries, Barcelona doesn't do perfect karaoke to songs New Order never wrote; rather, it pays subtle homage to all things Reagan-era with quiet Casios, melodic basslines and nostalgic lyrics. simon BASIC is rife with starshiny boy-girl vocals juxtaposed with omnipresent keyboard harmonies, but Barcelona is unafraid to shed its fey simplicity for effects and distortion. While lyrics like "Only 1200 baud/ Never leave my room/ Isn't that odd?" (from "C-64") could be cloying, Barcelona makes up for it by immaculately melding the best elements of contemporary New Wave. Fetching riffs and subject matter like "The Downside of Computer Camp" fulfill the standards of both nerdy melancholics and an entire battalion of Sanrio addicts. Ian Curtis would probably find it abhorrent, but his ex-bandmates only wish all resurrection pop could be this good. Julianne Shepherd Uri Caine Ensemble Gustav Mahler in Toblach (Winter & Winter) Of related interest: Gustav Mahler, Myra Melford, John Zorn's Masada Since jazz's beginnings, it has influenced classical composition. The favor has rarely been returned. Americans Gershwin and Bernstein, who originally raided the jazz rhythm cabinet to spice up their orchestral works, have been improvisational Silly Putty since the '50s, and the French school--Ravel, Debussy, Satie--has inspired artists from Charlie Parker to the Vienna Art Orchestra. But German classical has been about as appealing to jazzmen as a roll in the strudel with a schnauzer. That doesn't stop brat-pack pianist Uri Caine from roaming through the ouevre of the staunchest Teutonic Wunderkind this side of Richard Wagner. Mahler's melancholic melodies, militaristic marches and stormy dirges transform into a hybrid of European cabaret, Jewish traditional and American New Music. DJ Olive's samples on the Adagietto of Symphony No. 5 would have choked ol' Gustav, but they add a vibrant kick in the ass to this century-old music. Don't think Caine and ensemble are thumbing their noses at the great composer. There are moments of incredible beauty here. Caine's take is so reverently audacious that we just may hear more jazzed Mahler in the future. Or Wagner. A 14-hour post-bop Ring Cycle, anyone? Bill Smith - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published November 23, 1999