Unwilling to Explain

Unwilling to Explain is the fourth album by American improvisational band Unknown Instructors,^[3] featuring Mike Watt (The Minutemen, fIREHOSE),^[3] George Hurley (Minutemen, fIREHOSE),^[3] J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.),^[3] and Dan McGuire.^[3]

Unwilling to Explain
Studio album by Unknown Instructors
Released	February 22, 2019[1]
Recorded	December, 2011[1]
Venue	Bisquiteen, Amherst, MA[1] Casa Hanzo, San Pedro, CA[1] Cleanest Dirty Shirt, Toledo, OH[1] tHUNDERpANTS, San Pedro, CA[1]
Genre	Experimental rock, improvised music
Length	43:35[1]
Label	ORG Music[2]
Producer	Mike Watt, Dan McGuire[1]
Unknown Instructors chronology
Funland (2009) Unwilling to Explain (2019)

It was the first Unknown Instructors album that wasn't improvised^[4][5] and the first to feature Mascis on guitar instead of Baiza.^[5][6] The recording took quite some time with Watt recording bass tracks in 2011 and Hurley laying down the drums the following year.^[7] Mascis' guitar work was recorded three years after that with Dan McGuire's vocals following.^[7]

Reception

David Arnson of Music Connection called it "truly interesting" but warned "Your mileage may vary on the Tom Waits- and Bukowski-influenced bop narration. The real take- away is Mascis’ fluid and expressive guitar work."^[8] Razorcake's Michael T. Fournier praised it saying it "hangs together better than any of the group’s other records I’ve heard."^[7] Mark Hughson of Jersey Beat said "If you’re into on-the-fly jazz rock you’ll be hard pressed to find better indie star power."^[9]

Personnel

• Mike Watt - bass
• George Hurley - drums
• J Mascis - guitar
• Dan McGuire - vocals
• Joe Baiza - vocals
• Stephen Haluska - harp^[1]
• Leah Jenssen - cello^[1]
• Dan Wenninger - saxophone^[1]

Production

• Dave Gardner - Mastering^[5]
• Mike Watt - Producer^[1]
• Dan McGuire - Producer^[1]