Multi-Love
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s third album filters the warped, psychedelic strangeness of 2011’s *Unknown Mortal Orchestra* and 2013’s *II* through the novelistic side of soul artists like Prince and Stevie Wonder. Named in part after multi-instrumentalist mastermind Ruban Nielson’s difficult foray into polyamory, *Multi-Love* explores huge themes (trust, love, family) with vintage synthesizers and analog haze, flirting with disco (“Can’t Keep Checking My Phone”), funk (“Necessary Evil”), and soft rock along the way.
The threads of our past never unravel, they hover like invisible webs, occasionally glistening due to a sly angle of the sun. On 'Multi-Love', Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman and multi-instrumentalist Ruban Nielson reflects on relationships: airy, humid longing, loss, the geometry of desire that occurs when three people align. Where Nielson addressed the pain of being alone on II, 'Multi-Love' takes on the complications of being together. 'Multi-Love' adds dimensions to the band's already kaleidoscopic approach, with Nielson exploring a newfound appreciation for synthesizers. The new songs channel the spirit of psych innovators without ignoring the last 40 years of music, forming a flowing, cohesive whole that reflects restless creativity. Cosmic escapes and disco rhythms speak to developing new vocabulary, while Nielson's vocals reach powerful new heights. "It felt good to be rebelling against the typical view of what an artist is today, a curator," he says. "It's more about being someone who makes things happen in concrete ways. Building old synthesizers and bringing them back to life, creating sounds that aren't quite like anyone else's. I think that’s much more subversive." While legions of artists show fidelity to the roots of psychedelia, Unknown Mortal Orchestra shares the rare quality that makes the genre's touchstones so vital: constant exploration.
The production on Unknown Mortal Orchestra's third album is so central it’s almost another character on the album, corroding and tripping out the instruments. Ruban Nielson's fastidious choices behind the boards are a large part of what makes Multi-Love a joy to listen to.
Like bumping into a bafflingly built alien when expecting to encounter an old friend.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Multi-Love is frontman and mastermind Ruban Nielson's open invitation to a party. What's more:…
2015 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the groove in rock music, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra's most recent effort, Multi-Love, is...
Ruban Nielson returns with another anachronistic beauty, this one hitting the eardrums like a dusty Numero Group find from a home studio in the '70s U.S. Rust Belt, fashioned meticulously, mad-scientist style, with an army of synthesizers patched together
Review of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's new album 'Multi-Love,' the LP comes out May 26th on Jagjaguwar. The lead single is "Can't Keep Checking My Phone."
A three-way relationship goes stale – but prompts an album of fresh songs, with soul, electronic and psychedelic touches to keep it compelling