At the end of the month, New Zealand (or now Portland)'s, Unknown Mortal Orchestra released their much anticipated Multi-Love. I've been a fan of UMO for quite some time, their fuzzy lo-fi guitar sound and psychedelically weird approach to music (I mean that in the best way possible) is what drew me in. The band first released the title track, Multi-Love, with a video accompaniment. The strange symbolism ranging from the Egyptian Eye of Ra, series of triangles and the technicoloured kaleidoscope screen effects had me feeling like I was the subject of some psychedelic room escape game.
After hearing the track I was excited for what the rest of the album had in store. Once the chorus came in is when I felt like things got groovy. Definitely a dance-able one and a crowd favourite when I saw him live the other night. I like the accession and descension in the song, creating layers and sections within, giving it some added dimension. And Ruban Nielson's falsetto throughout carrying the entire song nicely.
Title track aside, the groovy element of the album carries into the first couple of songs. They literally make you want to get up and dance. Songs like, Can't Keep Checking My Phone and Like Acid Rain all exude this quality. However, if I had to describe this album in one word it would be, layered. I feel as if everything has been layered on top of each other. Synths on synths, on effects on effects to create this wonderful explosion and vision of sound.
Despite all this Nielson hasn't lost his psychedelic 60's touch. Fuzzy guitars, vocals drenched in ultimate haze and elevated synths round out this album. The spooky extraterrestrial keyboards on Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty make you feel like you're out of this world and you've stepped onto the mothership of an intergalactic dimension, exploring every aspect in wonder and awe with the muffled and distorted vocals playing on a loud speaker overhead. The song takes a turn with the two distinct solos, adding to the tracks already multitude of layers.
The World Is Crowded slows things on the album down. This is the kind of song you feel radiate through your body and soul. It has a sexy and sultry quality to it, especially near the end as the music fades signalling the songs end.
Stage or Screen sounds like a toned down, mellow version of a song to come out of something from Ty Segall's, Fuzz, but that is until the song breaks into a pendulum of atmospheric sound. The feeling of being transplanted on another planet returns but this time I'm falling, tumbling, cascading through space with the echoing keyboard sounds.
To close off the album Nielson's included a lengthy jam that runs just above seven minutes called Puzzles. The song gets jammy and groovy with his focus on power chords and distortion, bringing him back, yet again, to his roots.
Personally I loved this album. It was intuitive, introspective and beautifully crafted and brought conventional psychedelic themes to a new and modern place. A lot of hard work definitely went into production wise, as it was an independent affair. Nielson's political thoughts and themes also take precedence throughout this album and should not be ignored. He has a lot to say. If they ever happen to be in town, definitely drop by to catch their set. The songs, although amazing on the albums, transform into something else when they are played within a live setting. This is where the word "jam" comes in, extending songs and sounds into minutes upon minutes of musical greatness, the bands incredible musicianship a definite headlining feature of their live shows.
Fav Tracks: Multi-Love, Can't Keeping Checking My Phone, Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty and Puzzles.
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