Out Of Touch In The Wild feels like an album album, with the tracks naturally feeling their way to one another, but with enough stand out moments ... to show how far Dutch Uncles have progressed since they recorded that debut in Germany.
Their third album proper, ‘Out Of Touch In The Wild’ sees them evolve into the Field Music you can dance to – or the Talk Talk you can smile to.
Dutch Uncles’ third album is easily the Manchester band’s most accomplished effort to date.
They might start simple, sure, but when they're finished, you've got something very, very different, and complicated, and more than a little odd. Also: brilliant.
It's a very fine pop record and a nice suggestion as to the way England's pop scene could be heading.
Out Of Touch In The Wild delights in its complexity, while at the same time sounding warm and welcoming - taking myriad twists and turns, but never losing its way.
The fragmented texture of the songs doesn't allow it to slip into bland slickness, but it's clean, theatrical, and kookily conservatorial in a pretty satisfying fashion, if occasionally a little too keen to change tacks within a single song.
Even if Out of Touch, in the Wild is missing some of the bite of Dutch Uncles' earlier music, its brainy pop is always intriguing.
Out of Touch in the Wild threads a fine line of innovation and imitation, and intends to do so in a way that’s both smart and stimulating.