Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love

In a statement for his band’s new album, Ruban Nielson from Unknown Mortal Orchestra expressed a desire to make “sounds that aren’t quite like anyone else’s”. This kind of goal has run from the group’s under-ether psych debut through to third LP ‘Multi-Love’, but it’s never been more pronounced than on the new release’s title-track.

Nielson’s vocals come off like a sea animal bopping its head above water, before dipping straight back down. There’s a new slant, chants being swamped to sound like whispers. The same goes for ‘Multi-Love’’s supporting cast, guitar lines verging into sitar-territory, backed with an R&B pulse with two feet firmly on the dancefloor. “I’m half crazy,” sings Nielson, summing up the UMO ethos of always standing on the brink of full-on bonkers. Like almost everything else in their locker, they merge alien intentions into something undeniably universal.