Unknown Mortal Orchestra — IC~01 Hanoi (Oct. 26, 2018) |

Unknown Mortal Orchestra — IC~01 Hanoi (Oct. 26, 2018)
Location: Portland, Oregon
Album release: October 26, 2018
Record Label: Jagjaguwar/Outside
Duration: 28:15
Tracks:
1. Hanoi 1 1:20
2. Hanoi 2 5:12
3. Hanoi 3 2:23
4. Hanoi 4 3:48
5. Hanoi 5 2:31
6. Hanoi 6 9:48
7. Hanoi 7 3:13
Review
By Mathias Pageau, Published Oct 23, 2018 / Score: 7
✹ Ruban Nielson has never been one for repetition. Case in point: in parallel to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s kaleidoscopic discography, the musician has been releasing a lengthy electronic instrumental every year for Christmas for half~a~decade now. Titled sequentially from SB~01 to SB~05, those EPs sort of maintain the spirit of a UMO album, but with none of their obsession for details, layering slabs of chillwave synths and distorted guitars with all the enthusiasm of a scientist gone mad.
✹ Similarly, the unexpected HC~01 Hanoi is published just in time for Halloween. Recorded during the making of Sex & Food, with frequent collaborators, family members and local musicians, this side release is a much more serious object. As a whole, it feels less like a sketchbook come to life and more like a laboratory of hermetic fusion jazz and avant~garde rock, which isn’t to say it’s devoid of charm.
✹ HC~01 is at its best when it let’s you catch glimpses of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s previous work. For instance, album opener “Hanoi 1” would sit well as a “Faded in the Morning” B~side, while Chris Nielson saxophone flourishes on “Hanoi 2” and “Hanoi 6” are reminiscent of his work on the stellar Multi-Love.
✹ If nothing else, you have to admire UMO’s commitment for releasing a project that could easily turn fair weather fans into un~followers, but then again, maybe that was Ruban Nielson’s intent all along. ✹ https://exclaim.ca/
Bandcamp: https://unknown-mortal-orchestra.bandcamp.com/album/ic-01-hanoi-2
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Unknown Mortal Orchestra — IC~01 Hanoi (Oct. 26, 2018) |
Album release: October 26, 2018
Record Label: Jagjaguwar/Outside
Duration: 28:15
Tracks:
1. Hanoi 1 1:20
2. Hanoi 2 5:12
3. Hanoi 3 2:23
4. Hanoi 4 3:48
5. Hanoi 5 2:31
6. Hanoi 6 9:48
7. Hanoi 7 3:13
Review
By Mathias Pageau, Published Oct 23, 2018 / Score: 7
✹ Ruban Nielson has never been one for repetition. Case in point: in parallel to Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s kaleidoscopic discography, the musician has been releasing a lengthy electronic instrumental every year for Christmas for half~a~decade now. Titled sequentially from SB~01 to SB~05, those EPs sort of maintain the spirit of a UMO album, but with none of their obsession for details, layering slabs of chillwave synths and distorted guitars with all the enthusiasm of a scientist gone mad.
✹ Similarly, the unexpected HC~01 Hanoi is published just in time for Halloween. Recorded during the making of Sex & Food, with frequent collaborators, family members and local musicians, this side release is a much more serious object. As a whole, it feels less like a sketchbook come to life and more like a laboratory of hermetic fusion jazz and avant~garde rock, which isn’t to say it’s devoid of charm.
✹ HC~01 is at its best when it let’s you catch glimpses of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s previous work. For instance, album opener “Hanoi 1” would sit well as a “Faded in the Morning” B~side, while Chris Nielson saxophone flourishes on “Hanoi 2” and “Hanoi 6” are reminiscent of his work on the stellar Multi-Love.
✹ If nothing else, you have to admire UMO’s commitment for releasing a project that could easily turn fair weather fans into un~followers, but then again, maybe that was Ruban Nielson’s intent all along. ✹ https://exclaim.ca/
Bandcamp: https://unknown-mortal-orchestra.bandcamp.com/album/ic-01-hanoi-2
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