Album Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra – II

If you had to sum up UMO’s sound in a word, it would be gentle. But don’t let that fool you. There’s more than enough content for you to get your teeth into.

The band’s second album, ‘II’ is a neatly arranged collection of psychedelic Indie-esque tracks that sound like something straight out of the 60s. You can just imagine big glasses, bright colours and LSD induced visions of swimming animals. Which ironically is the feeling that arises when listening to the sublime, ‘Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)’.

There’s swishy chorus laden over much of the gritty guitars that appear to pan around your head like a bee in jar. The swirling motion at times can be a little overpowering, but it does happen to compliment their genre. But what exactly is UMO’s genre? It’s too obscure to be Pop, and not quite sleek enough to be Indie. They seem to be stuck in a limbo between the past and the present.

The home production feel of the record certainly adds to the listening experience, as nothing feels totally perfect. Each one of the ten tracks takes you deeper into the bands strange, yet inviting persona and they make you feel relaxed. It’s a swirly, dreamlike transition from start to finish that lets you in to the unexpected world of the Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

You can just imagine big glasses, bright colours and LSD induced visions of swimming animals. Which ironically is the feeling that arises when listening to the sublime, ‘Swim and Sleep (Like A Shark)’.

The swirling motion at times can be a little overpowering, but it does happen to compliment their genre. But what exactly is UMO’s genre? It’s too obscure to be Pop, and not quite sleek enough to be Indie. They seem to be stuck in a limbo between the past and the present.

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