If you’ve been out and about in London recently, you might have come across an intriguing advert for what is described as ‘the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra record’, or the ‘definitive album’ by the ‘best band in the world’. A bold but proud statement, and one that I am not at all reluctant to admit has some truth to it when it comes to V.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) is a New Zealand based band which consists primarily of singer, guitarist and songwriter Ruban Nielson and bassist Jacob Portrait. It is a band who has its origins in bandcamp in the early 2010s and has rolling members, from those who join the group for touring to those who only performed with UMO for a limited time. Nevertheless, the band has had multiple albums come to critical acclaim including II, Multi-Love and Sex & Food, winning Nielson the Taite Prize from Independent Music New Zealand and ‘Best Alternative Album’ at the New Zealand Music Awards. In fact, though you might not have heard of them, they have collaborated with numerous musical talents including Gorrillaz, Toro y Moi and Daniel Caesar.
Alongside their more commercially successful work is a vast repertoire of more experimental instrumental albums. These usually consist of long 20 minute tracks which career through multiple genres, tempos and instruments. One reviewer of one of these instrumental tracks titled ‘IC-01 Hanoi’ describes it as a ‘refreshingly raw, heady session of psychedelic rock’.
This context is important regarding the release of UMO’s latest album V because this album arguably constitutes the perfect synthesis between the band’s more commercial hits and their experimental instrumental side; and it’s this synthesis of tracks which I believe makes it the ‘definitive’ UMO record.
I’ll start with my one and only criticism of this album: it should have started with ‘Guilty Pleasures’. It’s not that I don’t like the sentiment of ‘The Garden’, with its carefully unwinding groove, simply that I think it sets a stuttering and janky tone for an album which actually develops otherwise seamlessly. Nevertheless, ‘The Garden’ still holds so much of that classic UMO charisma, especially during the extended guitar riff starting at 3:54, and the track blends gorgeously into ‘Guilty Pleasures’ to bring the album into its more laid back tone.
‘Guilty Pleasures’, a song which the classically perfectionist pitchfork reviewers describe as sounding like it’s being played on a turntable with an unbalanced tonearm, has that mix of characteristic UMO rhythm and sublime melody which permeates through the rest of the album. With lyrics commenting on the days getting hotter, the nights getting colder, this track really gives a glimpse into the setting in which Nielson was writing this album, being split between New Zealand and Hawaii, between his family and his music.
Another stunning transition follows and results in arguably the stand-out track on the album, ‘Meshuggah’. It has a powerful beating baseline and the funkiest of accompanying guitar melody’s, which once again Pitchfork lazily tries to compare to Sam Sparro’s ‘Black and Gold’, but it’s the lyrics on this track that combine to make it an anthem.
“And I know it's treacherous
And I know when left alone
We all just melt away”
As Nielson sings these lyrics, makes references to sugar in its many compound forms, and the rhythm continues to pulsate, the track seems to be growing, organic and living. This is quite the contrast to the more strict musicality of ‘The Widow’, an entirely instrumental track which is split into two parts: an upbeat, jazzy first half with pseudo-saxophone instrumentals and then at 4:16 minutes, a change in tone to something more akin to the mood the title invokes.
This calmer tone, with birds chirping in the background, fades into the next song ‘In the Rear View’, another favourite on the album. The sublime mood of ‘Guilty Pleasures’ returns in this song which celebrates the complexities of love in its repeated chorus refrain: ‘Do you ever look back at me/In the rear viеw?’. It’s a song you can imagine being played as the sun sets, or in the car on a weary journey.
An album of multiple juxtapositions, the next song ‘That Life’ is a stark tonal contrast. Alive with an energetic rhythm and celebrating the ups and downs and inconsistencies of life. This track was originally released as a single all the way back in August 2021 but it still fits into the album as a celebration of the craziness of life, as Nielson was still in Palm Springs when he wrote this.
‘Layla’ is another of the single’s on the album, released shortly before the rest of ‘V’ in February 2023. This is, simply put, a beautiful song. It imagines the perspective of Nielson’s mother as she decided to leave her home in Hawaii for New Zealand.
"They just don't understand
This isn't the place you end up"
Not only is the sentiment of the song beautiful, but Neilson’s slight reggae influence and guitar solo at 3:30 creates the most emotional outro on the album thus far.
‘Shin Ramyun’, a song named after a South Korean instant noodle brand, has to be the most delicious instrumental on the album. Its silky runs and comparatively clean guitar riffs make it a very pleasing listen but also helps you process the sincerity of ‘Layla’ before moving onto yet another contrasting track.
‘Weekend Run’ is, similarly to ‘That Life’, a more upbeat celebration of the mundane. Except in this case Nielson is harkening to both his gratitude at being able to make music that lifts people up throughout the week, but also to the special place the weekend has in the hearts of those who have had to work hard week to week for their livelihoods. It is another of the very early pre-released singles on this album but, once again, it slots well into the interweaving themes present throughout.
‘The Beach’ follows just as if the week is over and one is now at the beach for the weekend. The ebb and flow rhythm of the song mimics the waves crashing on the shore and the lo-fi production echoes the sound quality of a speaker covered in sand.
‘Nadja’ represents a return to the more melancholic side of the album, as it talks of loneliness and longing. In fact Nielson reveals the lyric: ‘Found a strand of your hair and ate it/Couldn't throw away this thing you left behind’ is based on something he actually once did out of pure desperation and longing for someone he was dysfunctionally obsessed with. The track is also a manifestation of the experimental UMO instrumentality which gives to rise to a poetic and emotional song without too much thought or specific character in mind, unlike ‘Layla’ and its direct reference to Nielson’s mother.
Named after the place in Hilo, Hawaii, where Nielson’s mother grew up, ‘Keaukaha’ is a short but bittersweet ‘emotional landscape’ of a track. It is an instrumental track filled with nostalgia but one which Nielson reveals is not strictly fond, just ‘heavy’ with weight and history.
‘I Killed Captain Cook’ comes into focus next, which is a tender, stripped back track celebrating Kalaimanokahoʻowaha, the Hawaiian chief who killed colonialistic cartographer James Cook in Kealakekua Bay on February 14, 1779. Neilson reveals that this track was essentially an ode to his mother, an attempt to impress her, as she - a native Hawaiian and legendary Hula dancer - would tell him the story as a child with pride. Nielson cites the track as his attempt to interpret slack-key and hapa haole music.
Certainly, accompanied with the album’s finishing track ‘Drag’, which is a 5:56 minute long experimental riff with bassist Jake Portrait, ‘I Killed Captain Cook’ helps tie the album to a close, starting as it began with a slightly out of place jankiness. Nevertheless, it serves to remind us of the non-linear sounds and emotions across the entire record.
How definitive is this album overall for Unknown Mortal Orchestra, then? It’s not like UMO haven’t fused instrumentals and lyrical tracks on an album before or included various out-there themes. However, unlike their previous albums, V has a heightened awareness of what it is aiming for: a mixture of bold commercial groove and subtle experimental funk that works on separate levels and together. This is an album I will not hesitate to recommend as a gateway into Unknown Mortal Orchestra because it exemplifies everything that they thrive in.
For these reasons V is, so far, the definition of definitive for Unknown Mortal Orchestra and you should not miss out on this crucial moment for ‘the best band in the world’.
Image courtesy of Simon Weisser via Unsplash. Image license can be found here.
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