Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 09/07/07
Label: Surrender All

It's getting harder and harder to remember right now but at one point in the mid-'90s, UNKLE main man James Lavelle was probably the coolest person involved in beat manipulation amongst a certain sort of punter. The self-proclaimed b-boy set up the Mo Wax label to further his interests in putting out instrumental hip hop and really only had any serious competition in what would go on to become trip hop from the mighty Ninja Tune. Originally working with Tim Goldsworthy (who later formed DFA Records with LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy) the group put out some engaging but hardly Earth-shattering platters of blunted beats and funk grooves.

Things started to go awry when an album was planned, with turntablist extraordinaire DJ Shadow producing the music. Instead of providing inspiration, the numerous guests just contributed to a meandering album that left most critics puzzled. To be fair, "Psyence Fiction" now sounds ahead of the pack, with a glistening sheen of cyber production enhancing collaborations with Thom Yorke and the Beastie Boys. Unfortunately the critical mauling handed out to that debut and 2003's "Never, Never, Land" mean it pretty much doesn't matter what Lavelle does, it will always be seen (unfairly) as Sneaker Pimps style clothes shop changing room trip hop.

On their third album, Lavelle is back with Richard File - he of the sumptuous falsetto - and the pair appear to have stopped merely flirting with rock music and embraced it full on. Their old buddy Josh Homme from Queens Of The Stone Age returns to collaborate on the amphetamine comedown of "Restless" but this time it feels like a whole song rather than a work in progress. Elsewhere another old friend, Ian Brown is back. Their last collaboration, "F.E.A.R.", was a bit of a damp squib but "Hold My Hand" is probably the high point on this record, with its Krautrock bass groove and clanging guitar echo. It at once calls to mind some of the high points of his solo career and "The Second Coming".

Other highlights include a collaboration with the criminally underloved The Duke Spirit. Leila Moss sounds like a conduit for both Bjork and Polly Harvey over elegantly distressed jack hammer rock beats. Elsewhere there are only a few disappointments, the biggest misfire being the inclusion of The Cult's Ian Astbury who - despite being a stone cold rock god in his own right - sounds plain daft when not fronting a band imitating AC/DC meets Guns N' Roses. So, once again UNKLE have produced another good rather than great album that sounds ahead of the curve. Whether or not people take any notice this time around is another question.

    by John Doran