The Units’ Digital Stimulation Delivers Synthpunk Excellence

The Units are a band I stumbled upon thanks to a podcast that explored The Screamers, another fantastic group worth your time. They referenced synthpunk.org as a source, and that combination of punk rock and synthesizers instantly piqued my interest. Unfortunately, the site was down at the time (though it seems to be back now), but I managed to find an archived version from July using the Wayback Machine. What I found was a minimalist site featuring links to six bands, including The Screamers, but at the top was The Units, a name I hadn’t encountered before. After tracking down their 1980 album, Digital Stimulation, I was hooked.

The production, particularly the Devo-like vocals, captures the essence of its era. However, the sound and arrangements are more aggressive, danceable, and feel surprisingly modern. If you set aside the vocals, the album opener “High Pressure” could easily be mistaken for an MSPAINT track. The title track, with its fast-paced disco beat, could have easily been released by DFA in 2003, and many of the later songs would fit right in on a Single Frame record.

While The Units weren’t the first punk band to experiment with synthesizers, they certainly made a mark by replacing guitars with keyboards and embracing technology in their songwriting. The Talking Heads took a more polished, artistic approach to punk, incorporating keyboards, non-Western percussion, and tape loops. Devo’s debut single, “Mongoloid,” had a punk edge that would have blended well with The Units, but Devo still relied heavily on traditional guitar and bass, feeling more aligned with the art-rock and new wave scenes.

The primary songwriters, Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber, brought a sharper edge to The Units’ sound. They were deeply rooted in the West Coast punk scene, which embraced a DIY ethos as a core identity. Their peers included the Dead Kennedys, The Mutants, and The Avengers, and you can hear that influence in their lean arrangements that prioritize raw energy over perfection. Tracks like “Cannibals” and “Bugboy” showcase their efficient, slightly humorous critiques of a cold world, proving to be both unfussy and catchy.

Like many Bay Area punk bands, The Units infused a sense of melody into their music that’s hard to ignore. “Warm Moving Bodies” feels like a dancefloor anthem in the making, while “High Pressure” is undeniably catchy.

The band recorded a second album in 1981, titled Animals They Dream About, but it didn’t see the light of day until 2016. This album serves as a great snapshot of the often-overlooked synthpunk scene of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, though it’s more polished and leans towards poppier new wave sounds, stepping away from their punk roots.

Digital Stimulation by The Units is available on Bandcamp and can be streamed on platforms like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Deezer.