(A personal favorite of mine!)
This album starts off with “A God Called Hubris”, and it’s certainly a very Unknown Mortal Orchestra intro. It has a strange beat and a very hazy atmosphere. It’s solid and all, but I’ve waited a long time for this album and I sort of just want them to get into it. Like the band clearly does on “Major League Chemicals”. This is a slick, very sexy Psychedelic Rock jam. But this isn’t nearly as glassy and modern as you would expect, and in a lot of ways does come off like a 70’s jam. It’s very moody and groovy, and it’s becoming evident very quickly that the more flashy production they touched on “Multi-Love” is completely off the table. But as far as a seriously groovy track goes, this is stunningly good. It’s certainly freakier and weirder than I’m used to hearing from these guys, and I actually think that alone adds a LOT. Two big thumbs up here, and it’s great to hear Unknown Mortal Orchestra freak out instrumentally. The very hazy vibes of this album continue to be dished out in spades with “Ministry of Alienation”. And honestly, those hazy vibes aren’t going anywhere. This one is much slower paced and honestly pretty moody. But why do I feel like with tracks like this that they’ve just taken a step back? Like, to the era of their first two albums, where everything was a big hazy mess. As far as a track goes, I still think this comes off a little more focused at the end of the day, and I do like some of the low-key grooves. Also, Ruban does sound very seductive. So no, this track really isn’t terrible, but to open up with this massive freakout only to hear them take multiple steps back is a little disheartening. However, I am seriously digging the very refined and classy “Hunnybee”. And not so shocking, the very classy sound is bumped out of the way very quickly in exchange for some serious bumpin’ and groovin’. This is actually a seriously fantastic sound for them. It’s not gussied up, not flashy and it remains to have that same hazy aesthetic. All around, this track works so well. It’s bouncy and catchy, and Ruban’s vocals are endearing and sweet while remaining just bluesy enough. It’s not like these guys can’t make seriously addictive tracks without completely throwing out their majorly psychedelic sound. Not to mention, there’s an innocence to this track that comes off wonderfully.
But it’s becoming very clear very fast that all bets are off with this album. With “Chronos Feasts on HIs Children”, we get a straight up Psych Folk ballad. Like, an honest to God ballad. It doesn’t even come off that bad either, it’s actually sort of sweet in parts. But I personally don’t feel like this compliments the album at all. Between all of the grooves, funk and freakouts we’ve heard so far, I sort of just want to hear more of that. Just like we get on the next track, “American Guilt”. This track is a nightmarish Blues tune, to say the least. Like, I just like the hazy production that makes it seem like these guitars are going to blow out these speakers at any moment. Not to mention, I love hearing Ruban trapped out within all of this chaos. This is a seriously wild and freakish tune, to say the least, and it really pumps me up. The material on this album is some of the strangest and legitimately weird material UMO have every touched, and I’m loving THAT aspect. Give me more of this, go absolutely nuts I really don’t care. But what I love is, Unknown Mortal Orchestra seem in control of it all. Now, if the band is going to insist on trying for some of these slower, more stripped down tunes, “The Internet of Love (That Way)” honestly isn’t terrible. I actually like some of the incredibly steamy instrumentals that come off genuinely sexy. But Ruban’s performance here is actually bringing me down. I feel like it’s just so average like he could have done just so much more with this. Not to mention, his vocals get laughably repetitive. And that’s such a shame because I do really love a lot of the instrumentals here and the very hazy feel to it all. Not to mention, this track has no right being the longest here. Now, I actually really like the tone of “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays” a lot. It has that sort of Dance element that they brought in on “Multi-Love”, and it is GOOD. As far as a stand out track to really take away from this album it’s gotta be this one. I love Ruban’s performance, and this is easily one of the moments here where everyone seems on the same page. In a way, this seems even more dance-oriented than anything they’ve ever touched, it almost comes off like something that maybe Washed Out would go for. It almost even has a disco feel to it. Overall, this track just puts me in such a good mood.
“This Doomsday” once again shows Unknown Mortal Orchestra in a much more stripped down and Folky atmosphere. But in this case, there are actually some genuinely strange and bizarre elements to it all. It’s got some cool vibes and I certainly don’t hate it. But I just can’t shake the feeling that this album would be so much more compelling if this band took one of these sounds and really expanded on it. For example, on “How Many Zeros’ Unknown Mortal Orchestra break out this sort of twilight Funk that I feel like they can really carry well. Not only that, there’s such a swagger to this tune. Even Ruban just comes off so much more comfortable in these moments. It’s hazy, it has a great, sweeping rhythm, and all around this just works for the band. Now, I do have to say that it’s not exactly the most memorable track in the long run, but it does show how versatile Unknown Mortal Orchestra is. Then we have “Not In Love We’re Just High”, and I do like how genuinely bizarre this track starts off. But as soulful as the rest of this track is, it’s actually one of the more tame moments here. The fact that this was a damn single actually gets on my nerves. Even Ruban’s vocal effects get boring and tiresome almost immediately. If this had a little more going on to break it up, that would be one thing. But this track to me just seems phoned in. And n, when those thumping instrumentals make their way in, it doesn’t get much better. I think going for a more soulful sound in the future may lead to something special, however, it’s certainly the way to go. And it’s a shame because when those heavy synths push their way in for the last 40 seconds things get actually interesting. This album ends off with “If You’re Going to Break Yourself”, and for a more stripped down sound, I actually do think this is cool. I love the very lazy, Psychedelic feel to this all. It’s a really dreary tune that has some great bluesy vocals. But like, I just wish this was more. What happened to that bold new direction they were pushing out into on their last album? This is alright as a finale, but that’s all I can say.
Rating: 7.4/10
Give a Listen To: “Major League Chemicals”, “Hunnybee”, “American Guilt”, “Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays”
Genre: Psychedelic Rock / Psychedelic Funk / Psychedelic Soul
Overall Thoughts: Unknown Mortal Orchestra for this album have completely thrown away the much more accessible and Electronic based sound they went for on "Multi-Love". So right off the bat, you may be into this a little more if you weren't into the sounds on that album. This is easily Unknown Mortal Orchestra's most freaky and bizarre album to date. That, combined with their already heavy Psychedelic sound makes for some genuinely weird moments. And guess what? When UMO go all the way with it, it leads to some of their most compelling singles they've ever written. But this album is a battle raging between the more accessible side of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and their more Low-Fi side. Neither one is truly "bad", but this album would be so much more concrete if they took one sound and stuck with it.
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