Not entirely sure on the source of this, but it’s definitely an interesting read for any UNKLE fans out there (which obviously includes me. Hopefully I’ll make it to one of the live shows this year though too).
UNKLE are back with their third album, “War Storiesâ€, due for release this summer. Once again, it sees a shift in musical direction. Co-produced by UNKLE and Queens Of The Stone Age producer Chris Goss, “War Stories†marries UNKLE’s trademark sound and integrates it with traditional rock influences to stunning effect. Recorded in the desert outside LA at Rancho de la Luna (where the desert sessions have been recorded) studio and in London at James’ new Surrender Sounds studio, the album comprises of fourteen tracks of epic proportions.
In a marked departure from the previous two albums, most of the instrumentation on “War Stories†is played live. Once again, there is a host of guest vocalists including Josh Homme (QOTSA), The Duke Spirit, 3D (Massive Attack), Ian Astbury (The Cult), Autolux, Alice Temple, Lee Gorton (Alfie), Gavin Clark (Clayhill) and long time cohort Richard File. James makes his vocal debut on this album, singing on “Hold My Hand†as well as dueting with Richard File on “Morning Rageâ€.
“War Stories†opening instrumental salvo “Chemistry†sees UNKLE taking their trademark beats, adding a twist of malevolently paranoid piano and cranking the Led Zep up to 11 with a lorry load of dirty licks and machine gun staccato beats.
“Hold My Hand†ploughs a similar furrow, striking up a lolloping, menacing groove and turning it into a relentlessly ominous tale of wants, needs, obsessions and pursuit.
The rock truly arrives on “Restlessâ€, featuring as it does Queens Of The Age king pin Josh Homme. The chorus ‘follow the light to the love’ is repeated over a dark, indolent bassline and skeletal handclaps that eventually build to an intense funk finale.
UNKLE show their eye for talent through their collaboration with sultry blues band The Duke Spirit, with Liela Moss lending her laconic, coquettish vocals to the glam stomp of “May Dayâ€.
Former frontman of The Cult Ian Astbury, lends his world-weary, whisky soaked drawl to “Burn My Shadowâ€, which will be the first single to be taken from “War Storiesâ€. Built upon the pulsating, insistent beats for which UNKLE are known, it ebbs and flows between foreboding and abrasiveness. Astbury returns on the albums finale, “When Things Explodeâ€, which begins with the memorable line `you’re a skull fucked little lie’. It’s a bitter lament of love and regret wrapped in sweeping strings that slowly build into a wall of sound.
“Twilightâ€, featuring the trademark icy whisper of Massive Attack’s 3D, begins as a delicate pulse and slowly develops into something almost hypnotic and unearthly, like the breathing of electronic angels.
“War Stories†will be released on James’ new label, Surrender All, and features a stunning set of specially commissioned paintings by Massive Attack’s 3D; this the first time he has embarked on such a venture. The limited edition CD will contain a gorgeous 50 page booklet, while the main album will have a 32 page booklet, both of which will also contain photographs taken in the Joshua Tree by Will Bankhead while the main portrait photography is by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones. The booklets were designed by Ben Drury. Will and Ben were the visual creative team behind Mo’ Wax and have also collaborated on major campaigns for Nike, Answer and All Tomorrow’s Parties.
The label is part of the Surrender All stable which will connect James’ famously broad range of interests – music, fashion and art – through one independently run axis: Surrender All is the record label, which will be a home for exciting new talent, whatever its musical persuasion, with the aim to push boundaries in the same way that Mo Wax did. James has also set up the Surrender clothing line, the Surrender Sound studio.
UNKLE will be going out live for the first time this summer, playing a series of shows and festivals around the world. This promises to be an audio visual experience not to be forgotten.
