Five Mile Point by Unlettered: A Hypnotic Post-Punk Adventure

Unlettered is a creative post-punk project by multi-instrumentalist Mike Knowlton, and he has just dropped his highly anticipated album entitled Five Mile Point. The LP arrived on November 22 and is available across all major streaming platforms in digital form, while the physical copy comes as a 180-gram black vinyl edition via Bandcamp.

With roots in the ebullient 90’s New York City experimental music scene, Knowlton’s work with Unlettered draws on influences like Polvo, Sonic Youth, and Lungfish. The result is a dark, hypnotic sound filled with fuzzed-out rhythms and angular melodies that channel themes of transition, loss, and melancholy. This latest album starts a new chapter with the inclusion of Knowlton’s wife, Kelly Grimm, as collaborator. Together, they create music that feels deeply personal and yet universally relatable at the same time. 

Coming from Southwest Florida-a region one would normally associate with being far more laid-back for singer-songwriter vibes than with experimental rock-Unlettered stands out as a testament to artistic resilience. Every track on Five Mile Point was carefully honed in Knowlton’s studio, where this creative isolation became inspiration for the duo.

The band’s momentum continues with two contributions to the forthcoming compilation Meat Whiplash Collected/Contextualized on Silver Girl Records, revisiting the legacy of the 80s East Kilbride band Meat Whiplash.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of post-punk or new to Unlettered’s evocative style, Five Mile Point offers a hauntingly beautiful journey through sound and emotion. Don’t miss it.