Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the psych-funk-rock project of Ruban Nielson, dropped V in late March after a near 5-year break from touring and releasing music . V is Unknown’s fifth album, and, as if to acknowledge the long break since the previous album, 2018's Sex and Food, this new release is a double album of 14 songs that clock in at an hour even.
Unknown's characteristic super-saturated, melodic sound featuring Nielson’s characteristically catchy and unexpected chord progressions and tasty guitar bits that carry the songs is very much alive on this album, but with a whole new quality. The song writing is still very dynamic, with lots of variation between and within songs. Almost every track feels like it could be a single, but the tracks also flow together in a way that feels cohesive and methodical. About the album, Nielson has explained that lots of it came from experiences during the band’s break where he returned home to Hawaii to be with his mother after a “Laundry list of tragedies,” in his words, that he says hit them all at once.
The album was preceded by a handful of singles, the first coming out all the way back in 2021. That was "That Life," a catchy, beat-driven jam with melodic, triplet-rhythm guitar riff superimposed over it. As in his previous writing, Ruben’s lyrics are just as creative and interesting as his musicality. "That Life" is about a culture and life of substance use and consumerism where there’s underlying dissatisfaction and seems to be about Nielson’s confusion and dislike about it all.
Later singles like "Layla" and "Meshuggah" have more of the classic Unknown sound of dynamic chord progressions, saturated beats, and arpeggiated guitar melodies. "Layla" is one of songs inspired by Ruben’s time in Hawaii; its subject matter is self described feelings of having to move from place to place, and his family's initial move away from Hawaii. Other songs like "I Killed Captain Cook" are meant to sound like traditional Hawiaan Hapa-Haole that also draws on Nielson’s punk phase as a beginning musician.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra hasn’t missed with an album yet, and V is just another step forward for the group. All of the influences that Nielson has said inspired the album, from classic rock and '80s hits to traditional Hawaiian music, are heard and taken to new and interesting places. This week’s featured album is a must listen.
