Album of the Week: UNKLE - Where Did The Night Fall

Band/Artist: UNKLE
Album: Where Did The Night Fall

A band that has had a truly transformative journey, UNKLE have reached a point with their newest LP that seems to combine all their past albums to create something that could best be described as electronically informed psych-rock. A series of collaborations from the likes of up-and-comers and under-appreciated groups such as Autolux, The Black Angels, and more congeals into a simultaneously cohesive and diverse listening experience. Though the whole thing is fantastic, highlights for me include Follow Me Down, Caged Bird, and The Runaway - 3 tracks with 3 different though equally talented female vocalists. Follow Me Down features a stunning vocal performance by Sleepy Sun's Rachel Fannan that simply must be heard, while Caged Bird with Katrina Ford displays a similarly powerful performance, both women carrying enormous presence, though never at the expense of the song (quite the contrary). Perhaps on the other side of the spectrum is Lisa Elle, who goes in the other direction for The Runaway: what she lacks in terms of sheer power she more than makes up for in mood. Somehow she manages to convey menace, fear, and apathy all in the same song to ultimately come across like a severely disturbed Alison Goldfrapp. Great stuff. Probably my favorite song on the album.

Check out Lisa's day job at the below links:

Official Site
MySpace [<--"Alone" in particular is great]
Facebook
Twitter

Aside from the excellent music, the deluxe packaging for Where Did The Night Fall is likely the best I've seen since the last UNKLE album War Stories. Record companies take note - this is how you combat piracy: the included lyrics, liner notes, and especially the amazing photography are expertly presented. This is exactly the type of thing I look for when seeking a physical copy of a band's new album.

And speaking of the incredible photography, UNKLE's latest music video (for Follow Me Down) is essentially the album artwork in motion, which makes total sense since it was directed by WDTNF's extremely talented art directors Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones. It's one of the best music videos I've seen this year. Sincerely inspiring work.

Feast your eyes on it here.

So go out and buy this album, or at least listen to it.

p.s.

if it wasn't already clear, I'd like to consistently make "Album of the Week" posts (this being the first), or at least a weekly entry that highlights my current playlist or something. We shall see. Stay tuned!