"Unfinished Thought, the dynamic duo from Kalamazoo, MI that stunned listeners with the dark ambiance and painful beauty of last year's Becoming Aware have followed up the success of that release with Based On Actual Events - a CD even more mentally unstable and musically brilliant. As always, the dusky mystique of Joe Kiser's music provides the perfect tone for the luminosity of Stacey Nelson's vocals. Here's the twist: this time each song is not a separate entity, but chapters of an epic story set in the innermost depths of a mind not so abnormal, only more aware of itself than most. Believe me - you should check out Unfinished Thought."

-Sarah Byrne, Recoil Magazine

"Propelled between the nuance of delicate, angelically ethereal harmonies and compulsively aggressive guitar playing, the music Industrial-Goth-Rock duo Unfinished Thought creates on 'Based On Actual Events' is a complicated and layered environment. A difficult achievement for musicians with decades of experience and rarely achieved multiple times by the same band. Their powerful sound is built on intensely haunting vocals and genre defying riffs and beats. Arrangements shift through an umbra of full-on industrial noise to orchestrated Goth rock and back to a soft whimper or the musical equivalent of a banshee's wail. They may have struggled to find a sound they could solidify as their own, even though it seems to have flawlessly found them. Influenced by musicians the likes of Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, Unfinished Thought have been compared to the likes of Evanescence, Kidneythieves and Italian industrial act Lacuna Coil. Note also, none of the bands UT's sound is compared to have been listed as influences by the band members. This disc is the next evolution of unbridled rock, with a hint of industrial flair and a pinch of Goth for intensity. 5 out of 5."

-Adam Tibbott, Tainted Imagez

"Unfinished Thought portrays what all music should strive for - excellent vocals, driving instrumentation and a sound that makes you NEED to listen. Unfinished Thought have a great edge. They have an interesting outlook and their music is way above par. Don't hesitate to check out this CD!"

-Yvonne Glasgow, Music Revue Magazine

"I think I've done it again. I've come across another shiny gem in the vast world of independent music. Dark Rock duo Unfinished Thought have just released their second album "Based On Actual Events", and it is nothing less than extraordinary. Vocalist and pianist Stacey Nelson and Producer Joe Kiser merge their talents together and create a compelling, layered sound. This album is very diverse. The opening track "Through Crowded Rooms" immediately grabs the listener with its fast-pace and honest lyrics. Another stand-out track is "Umbrella", an emotionally charged song with Stacey on the piano. The chilling piano wraps around Stacey's words "It's sad when the rain falls and it makes no sound, when it falls out of order, when you're not around." UT also shot a video for the song, which is available on DVD or on their website. Unfinished Thought do an excellent job of combining layered music with amazing vocals and lyrics. They seek to bring the listener a story of "never ending sleep, of forever deepening concern, and of unavoidable consequence." This is true, as "Based On Actual Events" takes the listener on an emotional roller coaster ride. Fans of Garbage, Kidneythieves, and Lacuna Coil should definitely take notice as I believe that this is definitely a band to watch."

-Sarah, Collected Sounds

"Unfinished Thought certainly aren't a band you can meet everyday because it's quite rare to find two people dedicating so much effort to the recording, release and promotion of an album nowadays without losing a single ounce of inspiration. I've always been convinced that when you don't have much time to experiment because of label deadlines or fear of the label dropping you, then it becomes hugely unlikely to survive and stand out. Add that every developed country produces thousands of rock CDs or vinyls every year, and then you'll get a picture of why there were great bands in the 70's and 80's, whereas the rest of the years onward allowed for just a few good bands, hardly any legends and very few unforgettable songs that ever entered the book of classics.

Yet there are some trying to achieve the status of "Wonder CD of the Year" and this duo's come back seems to be one of these, and luckily most of all - a memorable record including a handful of compositions pleasant to be played again even in the far future. Just admit it, how many pieces from your CDography were listened to again this year? Not many indeed, and "Based on Actual Events", owing to manifold qualities present at the same time, definitely shan't get covered with dust like most of your collection, trust me!

Twelve tracks narrate a story about the mysterious disappearance of an unforgettable individual, 'The Timid', a recluse about to lose his mental soundness, pushed by an ever-growing depression; a real potential suicide, hoping to be reborn into a memoryless world giving the miserable bloke a second chance. Now, the possibilities are two: either [lyricist] Joe has telepathic powers, or he has lived through similar experiences in his own life like mine, however I feel this character quite autobiographical and that's another point in favor of him. Even if one may have slightly different interpretations while reading the lyrics, one sees that the chap's life doesn't end well as one would expect, and that reflects this two-piece's life vision: hopeless.

[A song by song review:]

The kick-off is given by "Through Crowded Rooms" mixing dark-wave, metal, industrial and electronica with Stacey Nelson's voice, now sweet and magnetic, on other occasions hovering and quivering. To be cited - the short funeral keyboards break, but keep in mind that during all the 53 minutes of this album this instrument is never a frill and on the contrary plays an important role in the sound economy, different from most gothic bands.

Based on a lively programming, "Sidewalks" lulls you with Stacey's swinging vocals, pulsating bass lines, making me think of a hybrid between Evanescence and Lacuna Coil, among the others.

In the elaborate "By the Time You Read This" Stacey's first vocals are close to Skunk Anansie's, but when the programming starts they change and are layered on male choir vocals in the background; the languidness of rock guitars is fused with the coldness of the programmed drums, the crawling and obsessive keys melt with penetrating riffs, while the vocals sound very dramatic in the refrain, one of my favorites.

Another highlight of the CD is "Umbrella", the most Dead Can Dance-oriented; this is a masterpiece, nevertheless wholly different from the previous song, where Stacey's voice is angelic and melancholic at the same time, accompanied by only a piano and a light programmed percussion (or maybe just a synth). I wouldn't be surprised at all if the video matched with this song would make a go of it, as U.T. proved they pay attention to every single aspect of their project, and that's a rewarding policy 90 times out of 100. The clip was professionally shot with a steadycam in particularly suggestive places, especially a big wood during fall. Easy and effective as shown in the DVD making-of.

The follower's called "Probabilities" and borrows a helluva hard beat dear to Nine Inch Nails, while the vocals are as shining as the bass notes; danceable but not commercial tout-court; Stacey used dubbed vocals here, and reminds me of Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia's. The programming proves to be heavy, while the 6-string sounds are strongly modern metal.

"Evening" touches quality pop-rock shores, with the black-haired goddess seducing me with her catty hooks; the chorus and the riffing are real mind-penetrating, so that I feel like a mouse in the clutches of the unmerciful Pied Piperess from Kalamazoo. The recording and the mixing would be excellent even for an unselfreleased act, though I'm sure they're not enough to justify the siren's effect such a song has on me.

Hypnotic is the drumming at the beginning of "Don't Stop Raindrop", using very 80's keyboard sounds, and alternating it with electrically nervous structures; multi-instrumentalist and co-leader Joe Kiser turns this song from an ordinary one to an efficient one thanks to some Goblin-like keyboard notes suitable for an auteur horror flick.

Simply wonderful the words of "The Order of Detail", the Gathering-influenced vocals and the piano notes bringing to a climax, making me think of the lightest Evanescence, and then to a dynamical break; before the initial strophe is re-used, the song remains close to gothic metal coordinates.

Unfinished Thought own several potential singles to choose from this record, and "Perfectly Still" belongs to that group. If you liked "Mandylion", you'll drool for this song, although I must admit there's more, like the odd parts with overdubbed vocal parts (all female like in all the CD), far from the Dutch act's standards.

An arpeggio opens "The Timid", the longest track of all, slightly employing Pink Floydian guitars and mellow keyboards; it seems to me this is the only track with a human drummer, but the point is that this is the most complete composition of U.T., representing almost all their shades; it's a soft song, yet not banal at all. I'm convinced that even though you're knocking on 20, you'll dig this kind of songwriting, notwithstanding it's straightforward and not aggressive.

Fervent is the right adjective to qualify "Silhouette", gifted with its winding drum 'n' bass moves a là NIN, or trip hop a là Portishead; once again Stacey doesn't miss a nanosecond in her beats, and besides the song's effect is doubled if you listen to that with a serious subwoofer.

Thrills and hearts broken are the results for the closer, "Coming Back"; you can really feel the sadness of the piano and the passionate hopelessness sung here, and sustained by deep lyrics; there're also some violin lines - probably synthesized - to reinforce this atmosphere before a ringing phone, the name Lucy repeated with obsession and another unidentified noise. A very disturbing end for a masterpiece of decay started not happily, and like "Umbrella", based on the piano and Stacey's voice but without the programming.

Joe and Stacey have passed every test: they're all-round pro musicians; not only performers, but also remarkable songwriters in an utterly creative period of their careers. It really is true that after Evanescence's success, who even played some U.T. songs live, that this genre has become extremely profitable in Uncle Sam's land. But still their artistic side is decidedly larger than the business one as yet.

Listening to the duo is an experience that will make your heart bleed, freeze and finally wither and implode into itself. What makes my day is their perfectionism, absolutely needed for a music like this, in which moral decadence and despondency are the very goals.

When you love music, people notice that. Now I can only hope to see them live in Italy as a 6-piece due to the obvious recourse to session musicians. Buy or feel responsible if mainstream keeps on force-feeding you with soulless mersh."

-Markus Ganzherrlich, www.rockmetalbands.com