Track Review: Unkown Mortal Orchestra - Najda

Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a quirky project reigning from New Zealand. The project combines modern indie songwriting chops, whilst retaining an old-school vintage aesthetic within the music. I funnily enough got into UMO in a manner that reflects this sound quite well. I remember checking out "Can't Keep Checking My Phone" online via their SoundCloud. This dance-influenced track instantly turned me onto their interesting new sound.

I had forgotten about this song when I was sifting through vinyl in my local record store. A song was playing in the shop that got my attention. The sound was definitely vintage but there was something fresh about it. I just had to ask who this band was at the front desk. They told me that it was UMO and the record was called "II". I bought the album there and then, listened to it intently when I got home. Then when looking up the band online I remembered that this was the same group that I had enjoyed previously.

It makes me chuckle thinking about how through both new-school and old-school methods, I found this interesting project from songwriter Ruban Neilson. It just reflects their sound so well.

I have been enjoying their latest release "V", however, the Track Nadja particularly sticks out to me. A sombre track consisting of gentle guitar, soothing bass, laid-back drumming and quirky vocals that paint a picture of a former lover who has drug problems. "Paranoia, maybe it's just the powder up your nose. Givin' up, it's just a door that's never shut". This is followed by a tasty guitar solo that oozes that vintage sounds that I love. UMO then follow this with a chorus and that's it.

A pretty simple song in all honestly, but so are some of the greats. UMO has managed again to appeal to me through their wonderful vintage sound that I can't wait to hear more of in the future.

I give this track an (8)

(My scores will be based on a combination of numerical grading from 1-10 mixed with an alphabetical grating system such as B+. As an example if I feel that a track or album is of good quality but just missed the next numerical grade I would give this a score of 7+ rather than a 7 or 8).

Thanks for reading,

Luke Puzzar