Led by Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra is a musical project that pulls pop, classic rock, and R&B influences into a lo-fi landscape, making for music that defies expectations but ultimately does not impress. Both of the first two UMO albums (a self-titled debut and II) did little to catch my ear. As for this third album, Nielson has worked on his collaborative skills throughout the writing/recording process, resulting in some tracks that are markedly better than the rest.
For many of the songs on Multi-Love, their quality comes down to the appeal of the vocal melodies and how the instrumentals then blend in. And because Nielson’s lo-fi vocals don’t appeal to me in general, I am very discerning about which melodies still manage to stand out. While the singles “Multi-Love” and “Can’t Keep Checking My Phone” hold up nicely, many of the tracks either fail to stand out or are just plain annoying. “Ur Life One Night” and “Like Acid Rain” both seem forced, with the former even verging on being campy. “The World is Crowded” has some admittedly good instrumentation, but the plodding pace of the track and the overall sound embodies its title: the song is being suffocated by the final mix.
With the creation of music companies like Pono and Tidal, there has been at least a mild resurgence of consumer interest in high-quality audio. With Unknown Mortal Orchestra as an antithesis to this idea, it can be treated as a breath of fresh air. But while Ruban Nielson can find satisfaction in nonconformity, it’s sure not going to pull him any swathes of new fans.