[rating=7.00]
Being the owner/co-founder of Mo’ Wax records the past 25 years has allowed James Lavelle the opportunity to discover and work with many great musicians throughout his tenure. The debut album from UNKLE, Psyence Fiction, featured DJ Shadow as a writing partner, and Thom Yorke, Mike D, Richard Ashcroft, Damon Gough and Jason Newsted were just some of the musicians that lent their voices to the project. Since then UNKLE has released four more albums featuring both bands and singers including Black Mountain, Josh Homme, Mani, Ian Astbury, Sleepy Sun and The Black Angels as just a few of the collaborators. The Road: Part 1 is the first release from UNKLE in seven years and Lavelle’s first go as a solo artist. The album hosts Mark Lanegan, ESKA, Dhani Harrison, Primal Scream’s Andrew Innes, The Duke Spirit’s Liela Moss, Queens of the Stone Age’s Jon Theodore, and Beck collaborator Justin Stanley as well as new names such as Elliott Power, Mïnk, and YSEÉ.
After a quick intro of spoken word over frantic electronics, the first full song “Farewell” begins with soft piano performed over gently played strings. The vocals of James Lavelle, Dhani Harrison, Elliott Power, Mïnk, YSÉE, ESKA and many more treat the listener to beautifully crafted harmonies that are both hopeful and mournful sounding. The title track is definitely the stand-out piece on the album. Featuring ESKA on vocals, the semi-acoustic start to the songs is soon united with drumming from Queens of the Stone Age’s Jon Theodore, which puts the listener in a psychedelic trance that lasts for the remaining six minutes of the track.
James Lavelle is adept at finding new or emerging artists to appear on UNKLE releases and this album proves he’s still got it after all these years. Many of the tracks feature electronic artist Elliott Power as well as the excellent vocal stylings of newcomers Mïnk and YSEÉ. The most notable of these tracks is “Cowboys or Indians”, which flits back and forth between rhymes by Power and harmonies by Mïnk and YSEÉ sung over acoustic guitars, synthesizers and electronic drum beats.
Though the album oscillates between acoustic guitars and pianos to full on electronica from song to song, it maintains cohesiveness through its apocalyptic themes. While many of the songs on UNKLE albums after Psyence Fiction have been a bit hit-or-miss, almost every song on The Road: Part 1 is excellently done. The Road: Part 1 stands out as the best UNKLE album since their debut.
