The newest album from New Zealand based psych-rock outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra is IC-01 Hanoi: a collection of tracks influenced by and recorded in the album’s namesake city. Ruban Nielson has compiled some of his most far-reaching and unusual work here, ranging from the gritty and spastic to the lilting and hypnotic; as the first entirely instrumental UMO record, it’s a towering achievement, and one that will hopefully lead to more music in a similar vein.
As mentioned above, the album was recorded entirely in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the surrounding culture and landscape can be felt in the music. Reverb-soaked guitars and keys glisten over a bedrock of damp, melting bass and succulent percussion. You can almost hear the rain falling outside the window. The added instrumentation of flutes, saxophone, trumpet, didgeridoo (!) etc., contributes to the visceral and immediate sensation of the record; you can imagine yourself under a dense canopy, soaking in the ambient sounds of nature, or moving through the streets trying to escape into the trees.
At times thrashing and volatile, at others droning and almost narcotic in nature, IC-01 Hanoi really puts UMO’s love of Krautrock, the avant-garde, and ambient music front and center. A total departure from their earlier material, the music is trance-inducing, warbling in and out of focus, drenched in sloshy effects, seemingly unstable yet utterly unstoppable. The colossal 10-minute sixth track sounds like it was lifted out of one of Miles Davis’ recording sessions for the legendary Bitches Brew. This is not the first time these two albums have been compared, nor will it be the last.
Honestly, this is up for the album of the year. Unknown Mortal Orchestra have been top-tier for a few years now, but this is a huge expansion for their sound, especially in the studio setting. The fusion of Krautrock, ambient, free-form jazz, and squealing, noisy, crashing art rock is a magnetic listen that draws the listener inexorably through a humid, stormy jungle and out the other side, refreshed and recharged. It’s like listening to a painting.
Seriously, do your ears a gigantic favor and get on this album. They’ll thank you for it.
Rating: 10/10
