Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Unknown Mortal Orchestra has a sound that reaches into the past and their second album, the aptly named II, is a step in a grainier and groovier direction. There is still an ever-present, glowing reverb and lo-fi sheen reflecting off their music, but what separates II is heavier, catchy hooks, and jazz phrasings that thoughtfully dance through psychedelic movements. The flange soaked solos and driving, repetitive beats of UMO that have often merited the label of psychedelic rock, however the radical shifts in style throughout II throw any distinction to the curb.
The beginning acoustic melody of “From the Sun,” the first track off II, makes for an oddly sun-soaked nod to violence in the harmonized phrase “Isolation can put a gun in your hand… if you need to, you can get away from the sun, you can get away from the sun”. The melody gets an immediate jolt into much livelier territory where the three-piece gets to show off their inner good-vibes, despite singing “I’m so lonely, I’m gonna eat my popcorn alone” – poor guy!
“So Good at Being in Trouble” is but another shift of sound on II– and it’s one toward the downright sexy. This slow moving tune is dripped in the honey-sweet falsetto harmonizing of writer/guitarist Ruban Nielson and drummer Riley Geare. The guys croon “You’re so good at being in trouble,” and the song rings with a classic R&B feel.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra has tinges of psychedelia, but at any moment it’s hard to pin down where these influences are coming to fruition.
Little teases of textured noise (See “No Need for a Leader” or “Monki”), the spacey instrumental “Dawn,” and the unique phrasing of Nelsons’ solos that accentuate the odder parts of the melody (“From the Sun”) all point toward the psychedelic, though the songs never break into the territory of the truly weird.
“One at a Time” is a funky-step up from the beginning of II, blasting brass sections included. Where much of the album is distant sounding with an underwater gloss, “One at a Time” is in your face and has a heavier bass and guitar that both cry with Wah-effects. The chorus is equally prominent, and sounds like a nugget from a 1970’s rock song.
Nielsons’ punk days with the Mint Chicks come through with short and impactful songwriting but Unknown Mortal Orchestra stirs things up with odd structures that only sparingly hover into the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-fade-out format, and when it does, it is done oh-so-well. The off-kilter textures blended into organic songwriting make II an LP all onto itself, and set Unknown Mortal Orchestra apart from their contemporaries.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II tracklist:
- “From the Sun”
- “Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)”
- “So Good at Being in Trouble”
- “One at a Time”
- “The Opposite of Afternoon”
- “No Need for a Leader”
- “Monki”
- “Dawn”
- “Faded in the Morning”
- “Secret Xtians”
