Units

by Jason Thurston
Part performance art piece, part synth pop/post-punk/new wave innovators, the Units practically ruled the San Francisco scene in the late '70s and early '80s before flirting with unlikely mainstream success in 1983. The Units built swirling prog rock-esque keyboards and frenetic electronic blips around politically and sociologically charged chants which echoed elements of what bands like Devo and Gang of Four were discovering elsewhere. The band mainly consisted of Rachel Webber and Scott Ryser, but held true to the spirit of a collective as members of the Bay Area avant-garde scene flitted in and out. After a spate of 7"s and dozens of high-profile opening slots, the Units released Digital Stimulation in 1980. The album earned critical raves and is considered one of the earliest new wave records. In 1982, the peppy "The Right Man" scaled the dance charts and helped earn the band a contract with Epic Records. While the soundtrack-ready single "A Girl Like You" found its way into rotation on the nascent MTV, their second and third records never saw the light of the day. In 1984, Ryser and Webber moved on, and the band dissolved. In 2010, the dormant band earned a new audience when the Portland, OR, indie label Community Library issued History of the Units.