Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? (Remastered)

Eleven years after its original release, The Unicorns return with a remastered edition of Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?, a song collection that has lost none of its lovable weirdness with time. At once goofy and ambitious, the music of band masterminds Nick “Diamonds” Thornburn and Alden “Ginger” Penner ranks among the most inventive outpourings from Montreal’s fertile pop scene. The Unicorns draw upon ‘60s and ‘70s sonic flotsam (especially low-fi synthesizers), matching it with lyrical themes that range from the lurid to the infantile. Horror and sci-fi references color tracks like “Tuff Ghost,” “Jellybones," and “Rocket Ship” (the latter an inspired Daniel Johnston cover). “I Was Born (A Unicorn)”—a theme song of sorts—catches the band at their giddiest. All isn't sunshine and rainbows here, however—there’s a tension simmering under the surface of “Child Star” and “Ready to Die” that’s hard to miss. No matter how shambolic the tracks get, The Unicorns retain their droll wit and knack for ear-snagging melodies. This is indie rock in its most authentic form: precocious, ungainly, and willing to court chaos to achieve greatness.