Unknown Mortal Orchestra – IC-01 HANOI
(Jagjaguwar Records)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
Nominated for best Alternative band at this year’s Tuis (And, subsequently winning! – Editor) Oregon-based New Zealand psychedelic rock band can do no wrong. Their musical style is challenging, crunchy and often awkwardly cool but it’s also infectious and brilliant. Often influence by an aesthetic of candy covered alt-pop their new release IC-01 HANOI will be a bit of a surprise to their fans. This time it’s jazz, with a distinctively ‘Asian’ influence.
Whilst making Sex & Food, Ruban Nielson, along with his long-time collaborator Jacob Portrait and his brother Kody Nielson, spent some time in Phu Sa Studios, Hanoi, where they got to mix it up with local musician Minh Nguyen. Nguyen played played Sáo Trúc (small Vietnamese flute) and Đàn Môi (similar to a jaw harp) and various Vietnamese percussion alongside the Nielson boy’s father, Chris (Flugelhorn, Saxophone and keyboards) for the album. So as a bit of a side project those extra collaborative jams laid down during the recording of Sex & Food found their way onto IC-01 HANOI.
When asked, it’s really hard to pin down exactly what this is. You get a mashup of avant-garde jazz, smatterings of Krautrock, all blended together and peppered with traditional Vietnamese flutes and other instruments during various intervals. All the tracks are named sequentially Hanoi (1 – 7) and therefore feels more like an art project than a pop record. Perhaps its something that Douglas Lilburn or Jack Body might have contemplated – had they teamed up with the Nielsons. None of the tracks particularly stand out on their own and overall this is more like the sum of the parts. Beats lurk behind ornate walls of digital sound, punctuated by endlessly creative electronic interludes. You can hear that the same ‘materials’ used on Sex & Food, particularly the psychedelic digital soundscapes and guitars are still her in the architecture but the design is completely different – no doubt intentionally to mix things up.
My liner notes tell me that “At its core IC-01 HANOI is a record of exploration, finding its closest antecedent in Miles Davis’ experimental On The Corner” Which, in itself is a record with many nods toward the emerging avant-garde scene of the day. That is probably clearest during the track Hanoi 4, which reminds the listener of Davis, especially when Chris Nielson plays on his flugelhorn solo. Thankfully it’s not as piercing as Mile’s signature horn sound. I was also reminded of another Davis album, Tutu, when listening to this and subsequent tracks, especially the dedicated Herbie Hancock grooves which are reinvented all over this collection, as well.
During Hanoi 6 Ruban Nielson gets to show of his chops on guitar with a buzzy, blown-out, wandering fuzz tone solo that subtly collapses into a very sexy Jews harp flavoured back beat over which a breathy alto sax picks up the mantle and carries through to completion.
There are many more discoveries on this album that will surprise and bewilder, simultaneously. It’s a collection that was made at the same time as Sex & Food but shows little resemblance. This could best be described as it’s ultra-cool little kid brother, stealing all the best ideas and remixing them up for his own gratification. It will require multiple listens to get your head around but it’s worth it. Find a quiet corner, some noise reducing headphones, tune out and turn on.
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