Labor Unit - ‘The Basement Demos’ (FULL TAPE)

Howdy..

It’s been a number of years since ‘Labor Unit’ died an all too early death at the hands of circumstance. Alas, rigor mortis hasn’t set in just yet. We’ve cobbled together all the tracks we still had possession of, in hopes to give one last glimpse of a band that was very dear to us.
Perhaps, a quick synopsis of the band and its untimely disintegration is in order.

The band was the high school project of two Alabama lads, Elijah and Yancey, who just so happened to be cousins. Upon getting our first Tascam 8-tracks on Christmas 2014, we set out to record lo-fi, punky rock songs for the next several months under the band name ‘NúHal’ (while their quality left something to be desired, they were very fun to produce). In leau of anything better to do, we set out to refine our musical vision and develop our songwriting skills to make something easier on the ears. In late 2015, we set our sights on emulating the sounds of mid to late 60s pop music and adopted the band name ‘Labor Unit’. From there we enjoyed a year and a half of writing, whiling away our last days of high school and pre-adult life in Elijah’s basement, recording to our heart’s content. Being in the rural south, we were isolated from any music scene that would stress conformity to any given style. In hindsight… we were weird…Maybe not weird, but sincere. There was an earnestness to these recordings that lacked any of the apathy or cynicism that is so prevalent in the modern era. We were so zealous in our reverence for our influences that it never occurred to us that it might be out of step with the current moment. That also became our downfall and the root of any hesitation to continue after a point. It’s tough to get people to listen to your music when you only play 3 SHOWS as a band in your 2 year run (shoutout to BERKELEY BOB’S COFFEE SHOP in Cullman). Can you really blame us? We were a couple of ne’er do well country bumpkins, we had no clue how to promote our music!
“Streaming?”
“Out of the question.”
“Gigs?”
“How do we talk to people??”
Etc etc

We were content to stay where we were, and make nothing that accommodated the tastes of others. We sought to reenchant music with a sense of playful wonder and revert everything back to an era that seemed more romantic, more youthful, and more honest. Did we do it? Not from where we can see. But we had a great time failing at it. Eventually life happened, Elijah left for school while Yancey kept the group going for a couple of months and added 2 female vocalists, Mary and Madalyn. The energy wasn’t there, and the band never broke up, but rather ceased to exist. Maybe you can find something worthwhile in these songs that comes across through the amateur production and musicianship. Something novel.

Enjoy.

-Elijah and Yancey



TRACKS:
1. No One Around (2017 Demo) 0:00
2. Too Many People (2016 Demo) 2:31
3. Rock And Boogie Woogie (2016 Demo) 6:06
4. Break (2015 Demo) 8:55
5. Hey Girl (2017 Demo) 12:31
6. Day After Day (2016 Demo) 14:40
7. Cherish Her (2017 Demo) 17:32
8. Gloria (2016 Demo) 20:49
9. Next Summer (2016 Demo) 24:24
10. Talk To You (2016 Demo) 27:55
11. About To Say (2016 Demo) 30:38
12. Miss You (2016 Demo) 33:09
13. Stranger (2016 Demo) 36:28
14. What Is Love (2016 Demo) 39:59
15. Too Easy (2016 Demo) 42:29
16. No Pay (2016 Demo) 45:10
17. I Don’t Want To See You Cry (2016 Demo) 47:55
18. Prove Yourself (2015 Demo) 52:22
19. O.K. (2016 Demo) 56:02
20. Fall In Love (2016 Demo) 1:00:03
21. In The Rain (2016 Demo) 1:01:57
22. Falling For You (2016 Demo) 1:04:35
23. I’ll Be True (2017 Demo) 1:06:35
24. (Rock’N’Roll) Alright (2016 Demo) 1:08:46
25. Friday Night (2016 Demo) 1:13:16
26. Mr. Smith (2016 Demo) 1:15:51
27. Mockingbird (2016 Demo) 1:17:54
28. Known Better (2016 Demo) 1:21:13
29. To You (2015 Demo) 1:27:07
30. On The Road (2015 Demo) 1:29:57
31. Will You Be Mine? (2017 Demo) 1:32:53
32. Too Many People (Early 2016 Rough Demo) 1:35:00
33. Cherish Her (Early 2016 Rough Demo) 1:38:27

BONUS:
// 2015 Demos under the moniker ‘NúHal’ //
Red Light 1:41:43
No Rule 1:45:30
Untitled 1:48:35
Standing On The Corner 1:51:10