Coming nearly a full half-decade after their full-length debut,
Nakatomi Plaza's second album is -- sonically, at least -- a surprising step out of the D.I.Y. ghetto. Instead of the usual muddy sound caused by hurried sessions in cheap studios, followed by on-the-cheap mastering and pressing and sloppy art design, everything about
Unsettled speaks of great care and attention. In particular, star producer/engineer J. Robbins has done right by this Brooklyn-based trio: the sound of the album is remarkably crisp and spacious, with songs like "The Strikes" showing off a somewhat math rock-ish sense of pacing and dynamics through Robbins' crystalline production. Similarly, the extended oscillating synth intro to "Not Hopeless" adds an interesting, varied texture to the album's sound, and here as elsewhere, drummer Lou Maiolica sounds particularly well recorded. Also, the packaging looks really nice. Unfortunately, it's easy to notice details about how technically good the album sounds and looks because
Nakatomi Plaza's actual songs aren't particularly interesting. Rather like an indie rock version of
Boston's later albums,
Unsettled is a perfectly executed, brilliantly detailed set of fairly boring and forgettable cookie-cutter tunes with undistinguished emo lyrics, all of it seemingly more concerned with technique than passion. It's an easy album to admire, but a hard one to actually like. ~ Stewart Mason