Fuzzy, funky, freaky, fragile – there aren’t enough F-words for UMO.
From soul to psychedelia may seem like a stylistic jump, but Ruban Nielson has absorbed his influences so completely, and has attained such control of his sound, that he makes such eclecticism seems completely natural.
Whether or not this finds UMO a wider audience, only time will tell. As it is, it's a supremely commendable second effort.
II exists on that threshold, between life and death, consciousness and sleep, day and night, fantasy and reality, beauty and violence, where thesis and antithesis blur and become indistinguishable from one another
Unlike the Frankenstein approach Nielson employed on the debut—which sounded like a depository for all of the music and pop culture he absorbed as a kid—there’s more consistent musical plasma coursing through the veins of II.
With II, UMO remains humble in composition and production, creating an honest album that comforts in the strangest ways.
II triumphantly bypasses novelty for a more meaningful level of significance: An album whose songs, personality, and band-chemistry come together for something that could well outlast its own current weirdness
Raw melody made Unknown Mortal Orchestra exciting two years ago; now they’ve matched it with attention to detail.
Even if II is not as sunny, fun, or simple, Nielson wears the badge of maturity well and doesn't fall prey to typical sophomore pitfalls or lose track of his original psychedelic vision.
He pulls as generously from classic soul as he does from those deep vintage rock reserves, crafting great, visceral pop tunes with appeal far beyond their stylistic underpinnings.
Even with that loose, untethered album serving as a guide to get the listener to this point, you still aren’t fully prepared for II, their frustratingly muted but nevertheless enthralling follow-up.
A record that's equally remarkable and frustrating, split between incredible pop songs and turgid guitar noodling with very little middle ground.
Beneath the isolation blues, II is buoyant and visceral enough to suffuse its existential cloud with a redemptive joie de vivre by way of the playful talent inherent in its creation.
While II doesn’t kick around quite the same as its predecessor, it makes up for that with subtleties.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra have crafted a tight, enjoyable sophomore album that solidifies their sound and sets them apart from their peers and musical ancestors.
While the album is weakened a little by an aimless middle, the majority of II shows just how good Unknown Mortal Orchestra can be when Nielson knows which direction he wants to take.
While it still has a few standout moments that grab the listener and spark a mood, it’s only occasionally eventful and, ultimately, doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessor.
Unknown? Nahhhhhhh
Damn that album cover is cool. Idk much about this group but I’m kind of just randomly picking albums because it’s fun lol. This kind of feels like a lofi version of King Giz or Tame Impala. I think that’s kind of a good and a bad thing. On one hand you get some interesting production and guitar tones, but on the other hand I feel like you lose a little bit of the oomph. Some of the songwriting is also just a little questionable like on From the Sun and One ... read more
Nice, just nice. This is such an improvement to their boring self titled album. This time they dropped the repetitive nature for a suitable sounding experience. Also this is has more rock elements which I feel they implemented into the album really well.
The only one really noticeable problem is the production, some songs just dip in quality sometimes or just have poor-ish quality to start, which I guess that's why this is tagged as "lo-fi" ... it can get a little annoying and makes ... read more
1 | From the Sun 4:43 | 81 |
2 | Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) 2:45 | 91 |
3 | So Good At Being In Trouble 3:50 | 92 |
4 | One At a Time 2:28 | 80 |
5 | The Opposite of Afternoon 5:25 | 77 |
6 | No Need For a Leader 5:44 | 77 |
7 | Monki 7:18 | 79 |
8 | Dawn 1:08 | 75 |
9 | Faded In the Morning 4:21 | 80 |
10 | Secret Xtians 2:43 | 79 |
#10 | / | The Fly |
#15 | / | BBC Radio 6 Music |
#18 | / | Red Bull |
#21 | / | Time Out London |
#23 | / | Amazon |
#24 | / | Uncut |
#25 | / | Paste |
#27 | / | Rough Trade |
#28 | / | FasterLouder |
#53 | / | musicOMH |