Unknown Mortal Orchestra has always personified the exotic, mysterious, and highly intense, even in those pop music moments, while at the same time being eagerly accessible. At the Auckland via Portland band’s 2013 SXSW performance at the Red Eyed Fly, frontman Ruban Nielson played to the crowd, already enamored with UMO’s self-titled debut, and at that time, the newly released second album, aptly name II, in an kimono-styled jacket. Between the light and flaky layers of multi-instrumentation coupled with Nielson honeydew vocal melodies, the experience seemed to release an imaginary fragrance of jasmine and frankincense in the warm Austin air.
Two years later UMO has returned with Multi-Love (Jagjaguwar), which accompanies the constant touring circuit schedule. Catching them at a daytime Bonnaroo setBonnarooset, the band was again in true form, but with a laid-back mood more fitting for a backyard house party then for the large crowd squeezed underneath The Other Tent.
This time around, as compared to the grueling pace at which the group ran after their 2011 debut, all members, including Nielson, were relaxed, playful, and more than happy to dive into their new tunes “Like Acid Rain,” “Ur Life One Night,” “The World is Crowded,” along with the title track “Multi-Love” and “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone,” while ensuring to meet fan expectations with favorites “So Good at Being in Trouble,” and “FFunny FFriends.” The lean towards, dare I say, 70s easy listening style, was more prominent in the live versions of some of the Multi-Love tracks. The bass dug a little deeper, the horns were a bit brighter, and they took liberties with some solo, free-form performances on drums and guitar; indulging us with individual and orchestrated examples of their multi-instrumentation expertise.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra released this week the video for “Ur Life One Night,” which has again that theme of exotic infused with a dream sequence, set in a magical and mystical story from India. Taking inspiration from Asian art known as Mughai-era, director Manoj Leonel Jahson began the creative process in collaboration with UMO, “I am deeply inspired by the quirky Indian magical-realism from our mythology and wanted to create something rooted but still visually appealing,” he said. “The music lent a dream-like quality and the lyric pushed us to the motif of the Goddess being pursued, yet always being out of reach.”
Taking off a few weeks at the end of June and the beginning of July, UMO hit a few festivals dates in the UK and Europe, including Latitude and and have now returned to the states for venue and festival gigs, including a stop in Denver at the Bluebird Theatre on Friday, July 31, along with Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, and FYF festivals in August, and keep rolling well into the fall in November.
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA TOUR DATES:
July 29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
July 31 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
Aug. 1 – Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Reporter Block Party
Aug. 2 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
Aug. 3 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
Aug. 5 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
Aug. 6 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy Theatre
Aug. 7 to 9 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands
Aug. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF
Sep. 8 – Helsinki, Finland – Tavastia
Sep. 10 – Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Strand
Sep. 11 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Pustervik
Sep. 12 – Copenhagen, Denmark – VEGA small hall
Sep. 14 – Hamburg, Germany – Ubel & Gefährlich
Sep. 15 – Cologne, Germany – Gebaude 9
Sep. 16 – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
Sep. 17 – Berlin, Germany – Lido
Sep. 20 – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli Vredenburg Pandora
Sep. 22 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
Sep. 23 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Sep. 24 – Birmingham, UK – The Library at the Institute
Sep. 25 – Manchester, UK – The Ritz
Sep. 26 – Dublin, IE – Whelan’s
Sep. 28 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
Sep. 29 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
Sep. 30 – Glasgow, UK – QMU
Oct. 2-4 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 9-11 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limist Music Festival
Oct. 9 – Oct. 11 – Miami, FL @ III Points Festival
Oct. 29-31 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Nov. 1 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Nov. 2 – Brussels, BE @ AB Box
Nov. 3 – Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU @ Kulturfabrik
Nov. 6 – Zurich, CH @ Aktionshalle
Nov. 7 – Ravenna, IT @ Bronson
Nov. 8 – Geneva, CH @ Usine
Nov. 9 – Lyon, FR @ Le Marche Gare
Nov. 11 – Barcelona, ES @ Apolo
Nov. 12 – Madrid, ES @ Penelope
Nov. 13 – Lisbon, PT @ Hard Club
Nov. 16 – Istanbul, TR
Nov. 18 – Tel Aviv, IL @ Reading 3
Purchase Multi-Love here
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