Unschooling

Unschooling delivers the core ingredients of post-punk through interlocking guitars that carve angular paths, jittery rhythms, and strained vocals while threading in buoyant melodies. The quartet’s initial outing, the cassette Defensive Designs, signaled strong potential that the five-song Random Acts of Total Control EP fully realized in 2021.

Formed in Rouen, France, the group revolves around Vincent Février’s songwriting, vocals, and guitar, following his earlier work in MNNQNS and Delancey. Marc Lebreuilly, another MNNQNS veteran, supplies the drums, and the remaining members were recruited from other local outfits. The band issued Defensive Designs themselves in 2019 as a nine-track cassette that stirred interest across the French indie circuit. Late in 2020 Unschooling released the single “Twelve”/“Don’t Sneeze.” Paris label Howlin’ Banana, which has supported several of France’s most celebrated acts, then stepped forward to handle the next release. Appearing in April 2021, Random Acts of Total Control placed the band at the forefront of the post-punk revival.