2010 release, the fifth studio album by the British Electronic act. This effort sees the musical mastermind of the group, James Lavelle, team up with a whole range of talented guest collaborators, (from former Screaming Tr... more »ees front man Mark Lanegan to Clayhill vocalist Gavin Clark) to create a sonically dense record that encompasses musical styles as diverse as Psychedelic Rock and Minimal House. Includes the singles 'Natural Selection' featuring The Black Angels and 'Heavy Drug'.« less
2010 release, the fifth studio album by the British Electronic act. This effort sees the musical mastermind of the group, James Lavelle, team up with a whole range of talented guest collaborators, (from former Screaming Trees front man Mark Lanegan to Clayhill vocalist Gavin Clark) to create a sonically dense record that encompasses musical styles as diverse as Psychedelic Rock and Minimal House. Includes the singles 'Natural Selection' featuring The Black Angels and 'Heavy Drug'.
CD Reviews
A great night out!
Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 05/11/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A brief instrumental "Nowhere" opens the new CD by UK Electronic/Dance/Trip Hop outfit UNKLE, followed by the echoey psychedelic "Follow me down" with Sleepy Sun on vocals. With that, they return with album #5 which features an armada of guest vocalists and an eclectic sound.
"Natural selection" featuring the Black Angels is a groovy psychedelic song, while the sublime "The answer" featuring Big In Japan reminds one of The Stone Roses.
The frantic "On a wire" is more electronic and features Elle J, who appears again with a spoken delivery on the dark brooding Trip Hop "The runaway". Gavin Clark features on the lovely jangly "Falling stars", as well as on the dreamy "The healing".
Not every song features guests though, "Heavy drug" is a brief interlude, while "Ablivion" is a synth-driven atmospheric Dance number with skittery beats. Closing is the epic ballad "Another night out" with Mark Lanegan giving a tremulous Bowie-style croon against a creepy soundscape with theatrical strings.
This year has been great for Electronic music with spectacular albums from Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Bomb The Bass, and Groove Armada. Now we can add UNKLE to that list. Simply brilliant!"
Another step forward!
David Parker | burlington, vermont United States | 05/20/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thinking that UNKLE would return to the club/DJ sounds of "Psyence Fiction" is like thinking Massive Attack might put out another "Blue Lines" - ain't gonna happen. Instead, Britain's second-greatest 'DJ collective' (Massive, of course, being the TOP DOGS!) have released a great follow-up to "War Stories", continuing to produce interesting, progressive alterna-rock that sounds like almost nothing else out there. And this time, even a little more haunting and less rock-oriented. No "big" names on this release, a la Ian Astbury or Rob Del Naja, but that makes this album even more unique, with vocals handled by a small, select group of revolving male and female singers who all helped to compose each of the songs on which they appear. Definitely one of my favorite albums of 2010. And check out the '180' that Groove Armada did with their new one "Black Light" - an 80's-inspired electrobash that also turns their past completely on its ear. Along with Massive's "Heligoland", a great year for "British DJ Duos"!!"
Another incredible album from Unkle
SWS | 06/06/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Unkle is quickly becoming my favorite artist of this century. The style changes with each album yet something about it seems to stay consistent and familiar. I had to go into this album with the initial understanding that it couldn't possibly be as good as War Stories in order to not judge it too harshly. It is, in fact (or my opinion really), not quite as good but it still is an excellent album and easily 5 stars. Seriously, it's not that far behind.
To describe the music a little, think War Stories without the rock theme. Take out the guitars and replace it with electronica and other instruments. That's not a perfect description but it's as close as I can get with only a couple sentences. Still very different from almost everything out there and still very Unkle. I wish that there were more artists that put out this kind of quality in their music.
If you are reading this then you likely know who Unkle is and will like this album."
It pains me to give less than 5 stars.
J. Mcdaniel | GA United States | 05/27/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"UNKLE has been a constantly evolving sound - both in line-up and style. Each time Lavelle & Co. release a new album, it takes me a moment to readjust, but I've learned to trust and sit back and wait for the genius to hit me. It always has - I still have "Burn My Shadow" as my ringtone, since even just the little snippet reminds me of all that's best in music and life.
Where Did the Night Fall is solidly produced, and the lyrics are sly and subdued. The music is all well-done and flows nicely. It still feels UNKLEish.
Unfortunately, it's missing something this time. I think it's missing some keystone songs to hold the entire album together. Each one of the songs feels like one of the transitional tracks from the other albums - I don't mean "filler", just there's nothing that makes me want to stand up and dance or sing on its own. Picture going to a dance club, and it's usually particular songs which will get people out there, build up the energy, and then the transitional tracks maintain that rhythm. Here it just feels like maintenance. I don't need the big names (Ian Astbury was the first artist I know about before hearing him on an UNKLE track - even Radiohead was introduced to me via Lavelle), I just want the big, bold sound. The only outright negative is that Gavin Clark is my least favorite of the vocalists UNKLE has used, but he seems to be a mainstay now.
It's still a good album, it just hurts to feel like I'll have to pick and choose tracks instead of simply putting it in the player and letting it take the party for a ride."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1