AMS album of the week 11

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s self-titled 2011 debut album did a great job of soundtracking my Freshers’ Week with its warm fuzzy tones. I’m now midway through my second year, and UMO have returned with an album that is fresh yet nostalgic. Quite a few of its songs offer more than just a nod to the psychedelic rock of the 1960s, whilst dealing with themes of withdrawal and isolation.

Album opener and absolute cracker ‘From the Sun’ begins as a mellow guitar ditty with lovely harmonies you’d expect from the likes of Grizzly Bear, and ends as a punchy foot-stomper, with vocalist and songwriter Ruban Nielson crooning throughout with the wisdom of someone that’s spent a bit too much time indoors.

I’d be tempted to say this album is written with more of a band set-up in mind than the first, but I’ve seen them perform the latter and it was pretty fuggin’ great.

Another treat for the ears is the soul laden ‘So Good at Being in Trouble’, with one of the best vocal melodies I’ve heard in a long (sad, lonely) time. ‘Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)’ is as cute and playful as the name suggests. Despite the lack of complicated instrumentation, there’s no “stripped back” feeling, rather a charm that is super effective at showcasing the excellent songwriting.

My main gripe with this album, if I had to have one, is that some of it sounds suspiciously similar to the debut. I’m not saying artists have to be in a constant state of reinvention, but two and a half years is not long enough to have plausibly forgotten and rediscovered one of your own basslines. One thing I feel obliged to point out is that the track ‘Faded in the Morning’ runs 4:20 minutes long. Yeahhh… I thoroughly recommend this album for pretty much everyone, even if you rolled your eyes at the very name of this segment. It is an unpretentious, unabashed, psyche-funk-indie-rock corker.