Rediscovering The Units' 1980 synthpunk landmark Digital Stimulation

Music writer Terrence O'Brien discovered the band The Units after the podcast No Dogs in Space referenced synthpunk.org as a source during its series on The Screamers. The site was down when he tried to visit it, so he used the Wayback Machine to access a July archive version, which listed just six bands, including The Screamers. Topping the list was The Units, a band he had never encountered before.

After tracking down the group's 1980 record Digital Stimulation, he became an instant fan. While the vocal production carries a distinctly Devo-esque, era-specific sound, the overall arrangements and sound palette feel more aggressive, danceable, and modern than most of their contemporaries. He notes that opening track "High Pressure" could pass for a song by modern band MSPAINT, while the title track's sped-up disco groove sounds like something the DFA label could have released in 2003.

Roots in West Coast punk

The Units weren't the first punk act to embrace synthesizers — Talking Heads and Devo had already blended keyboards and technology into their sound, though both leaned more toward art-rock and new wave. The Units, led by husband-and-wife songwriters Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber, stayed firmly rooted in the West Coast punk scene, sharing a DIY ethos with contemporaries like the Dead Kennedys, The Mutants, and The Avengers. Tracks such as "Cannibals" and "Bugboy" are described as lean, efficient, and darkly humorous critiques delivered with raw energy rather than polish.

The band recorded a follow-up album, Animals They Dream About, in 1981, but it wasn't released until 2016 and leans into a more polished, poppier new wave sound. Digital Stimulation is currently available on Bandcamp and streaming via Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Deezer.