Boston’s Unseemlier will release their debut full-length I Have a Screw Loose, Somewhere on June 13 through Sell The Heart Records, but today we’re stoked to give you an early stream, with a special track by track commentary below.
Clocking in at twenty-three minutes and recorded by Zach Weeks at God City Studios in the fall of 2024, the album is a heavy emo/soft punk document written in the aftermath of frontman Mike Assatly’s return to Massachusetts after nearly a decade in California.
“Unseemlier was started two months after I moved back,” Assatly explains. “It’s a style I’ve always written in but never really played, always leaning more towards the fast punk/hardcore side of my musical taste. Some of these riffs have been formulated for over 15 years and were tweaked for this record.”
Founded in late 2023 by childhood friends Assatly, Chris Pina, and Kevin Merriam, the band expanded shortly after their first tape with the addition of Andrea Neuenfeldt on bass and vocals. Since then, they’ve played extensively across Boston and New England, steadily building a fan base while honing the material that would become this LP.
At its core, I Have a Screw Loose, Somewhere deals with restraint. “I tend to rush into things but the majority of [this record] is about just that,” Assatly adds. “I wrote a lot of it as a self help concept to teach myself to exercise restraint. It juggles a lot of topics – nostalgia, growing up broke and the lessons that come from that, not feeling at home in this world. At its core it’s about struggle, which anyone can relate to.”
The themes stay grounded and often dark—addiction, loss, depression, and alienation run throughout. “Take A Load Off Family” grapples with destructive habits that are hardwired or inherited: “We can all fall into patterns and be self destructive… It’s about coming to terms with the fact that sometimes you are very lucky to have made it out alive.” “In The Shadow Of The Stoughton Skyline” follows that thread into deeper pain and regret: “This song is specifically about wishing you could help, but realizing you’re too late.”
Even moments of optimism are cautious. “I Know I’ll Love It, That’s Why I Hate It” pushes through hardship with intention, while “Anarchist Scholastic Book Fair” rejects external negativity and focuses on living honestly: “If you want to do something, and you aren’t actively harming anyone else in the process, go for it, and fuck what they say.”
The record closes on the title track, a personal anchor that encapsulates the album’s intent. “This song is literally a self-help letter written to myself—nothing more, nothing less.”
There’s humor too—mostly in the song titles (“My Own Summer (Pop Shuv It),” “Power Chord Career Criminal,” “I’ve Got That Dog In Me”)—a deliberate counterbalance to the serious tone of the lyrics. “Early on we decided to make the song titles jokes or ridiculous shit we say to each other in band settings,” says Assatly. “It’s definitely been a good change of pace for me because I’ve always taken life and band shit wayyy too seriously.”
Check out the full track by track commentary below.
Intro/LifeTrap
I feel bad leading off with this intro because it sounds the most like Fucked Up out of any of our tracks, so if that’s your bag it’s all downhill from here! I feel like intros to records are a lost art and wanted to write one for ours. Pina (guitar) came up with the main riff and it all flowed together from there. It sets the tone of the record’s lyrical content as well, about striving to have a better life and wanting to be happy, but capitalism exists and people are horrible to each other. It’s hard to hold it together sometimes. The title is a nod to 86 Mentality, cause that intro fucking RIPS!
Dirt King Of Allston
I also think sound clips in songs are a lost art, or maybe people started really getting in trouble for them? Anyway, at some point somewhere you will hear the version of this LP with them! Andrea (bass/vocals) called me the Dirt King Of Allston when I described the job I got right when I moved back to Massachusetts (driving asbestos-laced dirt around in a tiny 18 wheeler to be shipped to landfills in the midwest). This song is about the hours of your life you sell for profit and never get back. It never feels good and never gets easier, you just get older and more tired, so you settle into it. Possibly my favorite lyric from this record is the Thursday reference in this track.
My Own Summer (Pop Shuv It)
My Own Summer (Pop Shuv It) is my favorite song title on the record. Early on we decided to make the song titles jokes or ridiculous shit we say to each other in band settings. It’s definitely been a good change of pace for me because I’ve always taken life and band shit wayyy too seriously. This song is about looking back on your life and appreciating the struggle and good times you had growing up,and thinking about how they formed who you are today. A true nostalgia song.
Take A Load Off Family
This song deals with addiction and the struggle to not run yourself into the ground. We can all fall into patterns and be self destructive, some worse than others. It can be in your bloodline (nature) or you can be influenced by the people who raised you (nurture), or the people who you choose to surround yourself with. It’s about coming to terms with the fact that sometimes you are very lucky to have made it out alive.
In The Shadow Of The Stoughton Skyline
Another addiction song. Unfortunately, this one is more on the nose about it! 3 of us grew up in a town called Stoughton, 30 minutes south of Boston, the last town to be considered “The South Shore”. That area of Massachusetts has a serious opioid epidemic. I wrote this song about reaching out when you need help but also being better about reaching out to someone when they need help. I’ve lost a few friends. This song is specifically about wishing you could help, but realizing you’re too late.
I Know I’ll Love It, That’s Why I Hate It
This song is probably the most positive song on the record. It’s about unlearning the lessons that no longer serve you in life and pushing through, actively trying to have a better day in the face of adversity. It’s not always fun existing in this world but being intentional and trying to do things you enjoy to block out the negativity can go a long way.
Anarchist Scholastic Book Fair
Another slightly more positive song. This song is about not letting the haters get you down. Listening to other people’s negative opinions about you can really fuck with your head and make you second guess yourself. If you want to do something, and you aren’t actively harming anyone else in the process, go for it, and fuck what they say. I (and I’m sure some people reading this) have wasted too much of my life worrying what others think of me, gotta give that shit up!
I’ve Got That Dog In Me
Andrea wrote the majority of this one. It’s the most A.F.I. coded track on the record for sure, and that’s all her! This is probably the most collaborative effort lyrically on the record as well. It deals with being comfortable in a situation to the point where you basically just let someone walk all over you and then not knowing how to end it. We all fall into patterns but we have to escape the unhealthy ones.
Power Chord Career Criminal
This was the first single from the LP and is a band favorite! Lyrically, this song is about the in’s and out’s of depression. Healthy coping mechanisms and some not so healthy ones. It’s about taking it day-by-day and beating the odds, focusing on the small things that bring you joy and not letting yourself get burnt out.
Worse For The Where?
The second single from the record! I think this is the poppiest song we have on the record. This song is about the urge to not participate in the awful parts of life that we all deal with. It’s impossible to escape, but it’s a wonderful thought nevertheless.
I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere
We have reached the title track and the end of the record! This song is literally a self-help letter written to myself – nothing more, nothing less. Thank you for taking this journey with us, now you have a little more insight into the screw that is loose, somewhere.
