Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed to be influenced by everything from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone.

Original members Robinson (guitar) and drummer Philip Krauth were joined by Bridget Cross on bass in 1990 and their sound evolved into a minimalist but lively kind of pop.

The group broke up in 1994 with Krauth pursuing a solo career and Robinson and Cross continued for a time as Air Miami, which released two singles and one album, me me me.

On February 24, 2005, Unrest played a one-time reunion show at Washington's Black Cat club as a part of the TeenBeat Records 20th anniversary celebration.

The self-titled album features Robinson and Krauth on the first seven tracks, almost equating this project to another reunion of Unrest, though this time, all of the songs are written by Cross and she also performs all of the vocals.