Unknown Mortal Orchestra: Multi-Love | Album Review

Multi-Love
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Artist: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Genre: Alternative
Label: Jagjaguwar

It’s not often that you’ll hear an album inspired by polyamory, but Unknown Mortal Orchestra have always been a little different.

Their third album was written after Ruban Nielson and his wife developed a relationship with the same woman; so far, so unusual.

The musical concoction is just as intriguing and even less easily definable, from the warped psych-funk basslines of Like Acid Rain and The World Is Crowded to the hip-shimmying, lo-fi soul of Necessary Evil.

Nielson’s self- indulgence sometimes gets the better of him, resulting in a pretentious melange of half- baked ideas.

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Mostly, however, there are enough hidden depths and mysterious lyrics to keep the listener tentatively engrossed.

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is a freelance journalist and broadcaster. She writes about music and the arts for The Irish Times