Album Reviews

Album Review: UNKLE – Where Did The Night Fall (Surrender All)

By | Published on Wednesday 12 May 2010

UNKLE

UNKLE’s fifth studio album is one of their best yet, an insidious mélange of styles that owes little to the trip hop beats of their Mo Wax days, and plenty to the more experimental rock groups of the 60s and 70s.

‘Follow Me Down’ has an angry garage rock pulse and haze of psychedelia about its swirling atmospherics; the mood is continued in the Velvets-influenced ‘Natural Selection’ (which is hardly a coincidence since The Black Angels – who take their name from a classic VU track – guest feature). Elsewhere ‘Joy Factory’ could almost be Broadcast or even Stereolab, whilst ‘The Runaway’ is redolent of PJ Harvey, all tribal percussion and subtle menace.

This is effectively a rock album for those who like mood, sound and texture as much as the songs themselves, but the eclectic, non-obvious range of guest vocalists always keep things interesting and UNKLE’s melodic artistry, like their production savvy, is on fine form to create a richly rewarding listen. MS

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