UNKLE- Where Did The Night Fall?
There are some artists who you always know what to expect from. AC/DC will continue to re-release Highway to Hell or Back In Black under different titles, Lou Reed will continue to get grumpier until his face collapses in on itself, and Johnny Borrell will continue to be a tosser, releasing albums he will proclaim to be game changer, when the only game affected will be the 100 worst album lists.
To this group, we must add James Lavelle, the mastermind behind UNKLE. His records are filled with moody and vaguely cinematic electronica/dance music that you wouldn’t really want to dance to, whilst giving out vocal parts to an ever-increasing roster of guest artists. For the most part, it’s a formula that has been stuck to for Where Did The Night Fall.
I say for the most part because there has been something of a sights-lowering, as the best tracks reach out into new territory, with excursions into Chemical Brothers beats (Natural Selection, Caged Bird), Joy Division sparseness (On a Wire) and, best of all, sonic adventures close to those of recent Bjork records (the wonderful Follow Me Down).
Overall though, the reliance on filmic soundscapes has been dimmed, and songs in that region make the record sag in places, such as Falling Stars, and the string drenched Ablivion. It remains a shame that Lavelle is unable to leap completely for his bored sounding comfort zone.
Bravery is shown a bit more in his choice of guest stars. Mostly, A-list names like Thom Yorke, Ian Brown or Josh Homme (with the exception of Mark Lanegan on stunning closer Another Night Out, where the Screaming Trees’ man’s paranoid baritone burr suits the tone perfectly), opting for more underground artists such as Sleepy Sun, Elle J and the Black Angels, giving the record a more surprising quality than previous efforts.
This isn’t a great record then, just a good enough one. At nearly an hour, it doesn’t do enough to stop it rather outstaying its welcome, and it leaves the listener with an urge to plead with Lavelle to take more risks. However, when he does, there’s enough evidence to suggest UNKLE might be worth getting excited about again.
3 out of 5
There are some artists who you always know what to expect from. AC/DC will continue to re-release Highway to Hell or Back In Black under different titles, Lou Reed will continue to get grumpier until his face collapses in on itself, and Johnny Borrell will continue to be a tosser, releasing albums he will proclaim to be game changer, when the only game affected will be the 100 worst album lists.
To this group, we must add James Lavelle, the mastermind behind UNKLE. His records are filled with moody and vaguely cinematic electronica/dance music that you wouldn’t really want to dance to, whilst giving out vocal parts to an ever-increasing roster of guest artists. For the most part, it’s a formula that has been stuck to for Where Did The Night Fall.
I say for the most part because there has been something of a sights-lowering, as the best tracks reach out into new territory, with excursions into Chemical Brothers beats (Natural Selection, Caged Bird), Joy Division sparseness (On a Wire) and, best of all, sonic adventures close to those of recent Bjork records (the wonderful Follow Me Down).
Overall though, the reliance on filmic soundscapes has been dimmed, and songs in that region make the record sag in places, such as Falling Stars, and the string drenched Ablivion. It remains a shame that Lavelle is unable to leap completely for his bored sounding comfort zone.
Bravery is shown a bit more in his choice of guest stars. Mostly, A-list names like Thom Yorke, Ian Brown or Josh Homme (with the exception of Mark Lanegan on stunning closer Another Night Out, where the Screaming Trees’ man’s paranoid baritone burr suits the tone perfectly), opting for more underground artists such as Sleepy Sun, Elle J and the Black Angels, giving the record a more surprising quality than previous efforts.
This isn’t a great record then, just a good enough one. At nearly an hour, it doesn’t do enough to stop it rather outstaying its welcome, and it leaves the listener with an urge to plead with Lavelle to take more risks. However, when he does, there’s enough evidence to suggest UNKLE might be worth getting excited about again.
3 out of 5
Essential Tracks:
Natural Selection
Follow Me Down
Another Night Out
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