Tagged: unknownmortalorchestra + umo

A criticism only infrequently levelled at Ruban Nielson's Unknown Mortal Orchestra is that for all the style and panache the Portland-based troupe employ when reviving a smoky '60s aesthetic, only rarely do they realise their full potential. The eponymous début featured a few instances here and there (Ffunny Ffrends and How Can U Luv Me continue to stand out as seemingly indelible exemplars) while the considerably more contemporary follow-up,  II , carried with it a more or less equivalent quota of aural gold with the sassy  So Good At Being In Trouble [...]

• Unknown Mortal Orchestra - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay

Unknown Mortal Orchestra (sometimes known as UMO ) is one of those mysterious bands who seem to burst out of  nowhere . One track appears on a blog and suddenly everyone wants more music. This is the situation that UMO songwriter Ruban Nielson found himself in. Weird thing is... Ruban had given up making music. I called Ruban one late night and he told me the incredible story of how he went from being an ex-punk rocker, turned film intern at an Oregon production [...]

Seven Questions with Unknown Mortal Orchestra WORDS and PHOTOS by TRAVIS GILLETT I still remember the first time I heard UMO , which means quite a bit coming from the haze and fog that would come to be known as "The Summer of 2012." I still remember the first time I saw UMO , again, one of the 4-5 memories that survived that year. Ruban Nielson's staccato-classic guitar and overt psychedelia-sensual [...]

• Jagjaguwar - Unknown Mortal Orchestra- "Swim & Sleep (Like a Shark)" (Official Audio)
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good At Being In Trouble

Probably my favourite track from UMO 's recent second album, II - here's the new video for, From The Sun :

Unknown Mortal Orchestra sigue explotando su segunda producción  II  y nos presenta el video de su nuevo sencillo "From The Sun" dirigido por Rick Alverson, y es toda una tortura. Además el trio estará de gira por Europa en noviembre. Enjoy.

Despite their lack of physical publication, Spin always manages to throw one of the best parties at SXSW. There is free food, free booze and the lineup is constantly on the ball and this year was no exception. I only attended the first portion of the bill and here's a quick take. Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) One of the bands with the oddest names that I know, the New Zealand three piece act played a short set heavy on noise to open up the [...]

• CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share

Toronto's Wrong Bar was thrumming with hipsters by the time we arrived. Sadly missing first-band-on-the-bill Wampire, we fought through the beards, thick-framed glasses and girls who were born in 1993 to the sidestage, for what they call a "buzzband". Enter Brooklyn's  Foxygen , channeling swagger and psychedelia, and aping Rolling Stones circa '71. I like Foxygen's classic rock enough, in the way I also really dig my folks' record collection. It's comforting, and live, the kids - Foxygen are a duo with three others for the tour - are alright. Between all the ace Sticky Fingering, [...]

photos by Jonathon Bernstein UMO/Foxygen @ Bowery Ballroom, 2/28/2013 There must be something about having the word Foxy in the name of your band (see Foxy Shazam) that has a requirement of the lead singer acting completely nuts on stage. The 5 piece indie rock band from Agoura Hills (shout out to my Cali peeps) played for just about an hour and their music has elements of folk, alternative and lots of psychedelia! Lead singer Sam [...]

Los Unknown Mortal Orchestra siguen haciendo mucho ruido con su segunda producción II . Ahora nos presentan el genial video de "Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" en el que podemos ver la trágica vida de una marioneta después de que la cachan espiando. Enjoy.

Photos by G. Foxygen The last night of February 2013 was a night of great music at New York's Bowery Ballroom as we were treated to the sounds of Foxygen and Unknown Mortal Orchestra at a sold out show at the legendary New York venue.  There must be something about having the word Foxy in the name of your band (see Foxy Shazam) that has a requirement of the lead singer acting completely nuts on stage.  The 5 piece indie rock band from Agoura Hills (shout [...]

As of late, the ever-shifting tide of new music that continues to surge its way into existence seems to be drifting more and more into a haze of dreamy, warbly tunes, evoking the warm nostalgia of 60s psychedelia and fuzzy lo-fi rock, while also pulling from newer, contemporary songwriting styles. In addition to the snarling [...] The post Photo Gallery: Unknown Mortal Orchestra with Foxygen at the Great American Music Hall, 2/13/2013 appeared first on Spinning Platters .

After much confusion about where the show was actually taking place – Cha Cha had to be consulted – we made it to the Echoplex (which ironically has the best pizza in LA), where new-ish band Whampire had just played. ... Continued

It's contest time yet again here at ATH and today we've got some tickets for a show that we've really been looking forward to for a long time.  Below you can find some deets on the contest: Up For Grabs:  One spot on the guest list with +1 Show Lineup:  Unknown Mortal Orchestra , Foxygen , and Wampire opening Show time:  Doors @ 6:30pm How to enter:  Leave a comment with why you should win and we'll pick a [...]

That bit belatedly, we set sail for the South Coast and Brighton's estimable The Great Escape  for a first time just last year , where the primary intention was to get to grips with the live shows of the likes of Grimes, Perfume Genius , Loney, Dear and so forth – artists who had otherwise eluded our attentions in that all-important live regard. Frequently equated to a reliably windswept British alternative to SXSW, I was unsure of what to expect of the festival. Queueing of course, although otherwise I was left in the dark – as I [...]

• Dots & Dashes - The Great Escape 2013

In typically Shoreditch, and thereby standoffish fashion there's a gaping abyss dislocating Southampton lo-fi pop practitioner Luke Donovan, aka Spectral Park , from the not insubstantial few huddled beneath a Cargo arch. Tonight sold out long ago, though there's a rather more considerable gaggle elsewhere, as something of a London underground who's who hoo-ha takes place at the bar next door. Steadily however, the flock drifts northwards from one cavern to another to coagulate in the dark, as Antipodean twangs abound. Then, from the gloom stealthily emerges a silhouette – an effete being with a [...]

One of the best tracks of 2013 (thus far) has an accompanying music video: Unknown Mortal Orchestra have released a video for their stellar track "So Good At Being In Trouble" You'll notice a familiar face in the video, as the "plot's" protagonist is portrayed by Christopher Mitz-Plasse, a long-time fan of the UMO. UMO's sophomore album, II , is out today via Jagjaguwar.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra have so far - for us - been the best band of 2013. It's extremely early days but there has been little else to distract our attentions from "So Good at Being in Trouble" and it seems McLovin or should we say Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who features in the video, agrees with us. continue reading >>

Unknown Mortal Orchestra waltzed on the national stage from anonymity in 2011 to release one of the year's most critically acclaimed albums. As Scott McDonald wrote for Aquarium Drunkard at the time, "every sound falls right out of the sky." In 2011, critics spent more time discussing the shroud of mystery that cloaked the NYC-based trio of Ruban Nielson, Jacob Portrait and Gregory Rogove than they did wrestling with the sounds that made the act so compelling. Those that addressed the album itself spoke mostly of its cohesive, hook-driven aesthetic and the band's effective use of distortion [...]

Indulging in the retrograde pastime that is the immaculate indie scurry of The Beatles' back catalogue is easier flippantly disregarded than it is done over the www. though momentarily, something or other will come up on SoundCloud before it's snappily hauled back down again. And since the inauguration of the newfangled site's newly injected and seemingly random continuous play feature, there have been a couple instances of late in which I've done some proverbial rubbing of disbelieving ears at there being something as winsomely refined as a jaunty '60s Scouse ditty out there, only to find it to have in [...]

While still playing their most recent track  "So Good At Being In Trouble"  to death, you can now stream their upcoming long player II in full. continue reading >>