Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Old-school dreampop never sounded so good as filtered through the Versus model. Forming their own Ballayut/Troups axis, Kevin Kelly and Jessica Folsom strike perfection atop a heady and pop-melodic coalescence of jangly electric guitars, tambourine-shake 4/4 drumming, and Whitman's sampler of synth textures. Simplicity is always an ally to strong, concise songwriting, and The Melody Unit are nothing if not spot-on in their ability to pen catchy, engaging and memorable tunes free of distractions and indulgences. So what if it's five to 10 years done, the shit makes me feel good, and it will you too. - The Big Takeover
In the spirit of bands like Stereolab, the latter-day Feelies, and Speed The Plough, this Seattle-based quintet has mastered the subtle art of crafting gentle, melodic pop tunes. - LA Weekly
Rating: 5 stars
Choose Your Own Adventure is the second full-length release from Seattle underground dream-pop band The Melody Unit. There is an interesting fairly tale/fantasy tint to this music which is quite unique, particularly to the Seattle music scene.
- All Music Guide
In these hectic times of business-as-usual during heightened alert, music has proven a steady refuge throughout. It's my pleasure to report that The Melody Unit's Choose Your Own Adventure has been a real "go-to" choice in recent weeks. - Pop Matters
For fans of drifting, candy-sweet, indie pop, this is a five-star album. And when I survey from the vantage offered by the year's fast-approaching end, I would even go so far as to say Choose Your Own Adventure is surely one of the best of 2001. - Ink 19
The Melody Unit’s fuzzy psychedelic pop is one of those things whose charms should be pretty apparent no matter what musical climate from which it springs.
- Aversion Magazine
This Seattle outfit's sumptuous space-pop-folksongs are wrapped in a lush ambience, in a tropical psychedeliciousness, in dense layers of blissful keys and guitars and guitars (lotsa guitars) and sighing male and female dream-voices.
- Parasol Records
The Melody Unit allow their fuzzy sound to bleed outside the lines. A song like "Nutation" takes the psychedelic ether of, say, the Electric Prunes, and makes it into a chiming, whirring, floating pop masterpiece. - Puncture
Discography
Wax Cylinder (ep) - 1998
Odds Against Tomorrow - 1999
Kona Song (single) - 2000
Choose Your Own Adventure - 2001
Choose Your Own Adventure (Japanese release) - 2001
Songs for the New American Century - 2005
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
In the spirit of bands like Stereolab and Yo La Tengo, this quintent has mastered the subtle art of crafting gentle, melodic pop tunes.
Each instrument has a purpose, a melody of its own that adds texture to a song. The band is aptly named.
From their beginnings amid the Seattle post-grunge scene, The Melody Unit was often regarded as an anomaly withintheir own city.
With the release of debut EP, Wax Cylinder in 1998, The Melody Unit drew a loyal following attracted to their unique blend of sometimes
angelic, sometimes psychedelic sounds. Original members Kelly, Salvadalena, and Kappert were joined by Lynch on 1999s full-length Odds Against Tomorrow. While virtual tourists in their own home,
Choose Your Own Adventure (2001) recieved glowing national reviews and a successful Japanese release. Although rumors spoke of a breakup, The Melody Unit spent a couple of years writing, rehearsing and recording material for their new album while adding new vocalist, Emma
Valentiner.
Songs for the New American Century marks a slight departure to those already familiar with The
Melody Units sound. While the boy/girl harmonies and unique song structures remain, theres a little less glaze and a little less haze and a sharper focus in their approach. It is surely their
finest work to date.
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