Album Review: Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love

The lone publicity photo that adorns Multi-Love’s press release is of a bedroom studio crammed with recording gear and lit by what looks like a giant pink marshmallow; maybe the 21st century version of a lava lamp.

With the out-of-the-blue success of the first two UMO albums, Ruban Nielson has splashed out on a serious studio upgrade and, as before, recorded almost everything himself, only this time with a hi-tech arsenal.

If the first two albums were all natural herbs, then Multi-Love is something a bit more synthetic. Highlights include the contagiously fidgety, introverted disco of Can’t Keep Checking My Phone and mope-y dramas such as The World Is Crowded. Nielson follows up II’s theme of dealing with loneliness with a plethora of reflections on the frustrations and complexities of being in a relationship. After all, why find a happy balance when problems can be used as songwriting inspiration? Elsewhere, he ponders a newfound interest in biocentric astrophysics, where questions such as ‘is the universe a hologram?’ are thrown up.

Multi-Love is like switching to a new operating system. Sure, the technology’s superior, but it’s missing those quirks we’d become accustomed to. One can’t help thinking it would’ve been a better record if Nielson, as well as filling his bedroom with gizmos, had invited a few friends ‘round too. Even with all the latest science, you can’t replace the human touch.