Some may say that the psychedelic side of music may be rock music on drugs. But it has become so much more than that in 2015. Artists are using reflective lyrics, bluesy guitar riffs and creative production to develop the tools the the greats invented.
The Portland band Unknown Mortal Orchestra has been a group that has made waves in the psychedelic genre with their woozy and revivalist sounds. But their third LP Multi-Love breaks away from tones of their previous albums by kicking itself with a bouncy drumbeat and guitar work on the title track. Sure, the song itself discusses Nielsen’s heartbreak and poly amorous love, but the grooviness of the synths drums and guitar make this song sound sound like some happy psych-pop.
Unknown Mortal Orchestras work in the past really centered around the guitar and production, but Multi-Love has a lot more surprises in it, especially with the instrumentation. Can’t keep checking my phone starts off with trumpets, There’s a great saxophone solo in the track Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty, and the backup voices in the track The World Is Crowded make it a soulful highlight. All of these songs could be great pop tunes.
But I wish though that the production work wouldn’t harshly go over Ruban’s voice as it does in many of these songs because some of the lyrical themes in Multi-Love are really good. The range from Ruban’s individual fears of heartbreak to some of our own societal fears like immigration and paranoia, which get touched on in the songs Puzzles and The World is Crowded. Songs like these show a really reflective side to this psych-pop LP. But in use of the psychedelic woozy sounds used in producing this album, Ruban’s voice and lyrics are damped out as a sacrifice and these lyrics can feel as though they’re background.
But overall, one cannot deny that Ruban Nielsen and his crew have created a heartfelt and joyous album. As this album does use quite a bit of production, seeing some of these songs played live would definitely be interesting. And that will be possible, as the band will be hitting up Chicago at the Lincoln hall on June 6th.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkDKeEP4XOM]
Admin at Beyond The Stage Magazine
Beyond The Stage Magazine is a digital music publication based out of the United States. With more than 25 issues, the publication has covered artists like Noah Cyrus, Logan Henderson and more.
Latest posts by Beyond The Stage (see all)
- Today in Music History: April 7 - April 7, 2023
- EP Review: Michigander’s It Will Never Be The Same - March 31, 2023
- Deep Dive: Spotify’s ALT NOW Playlist - March 30, 2023
