Unkle
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War Stories
By 18, James Lavelle had started seminal whiteboy-hop label Mo Wax. By 22, he’d released DJ Shadow’s world-beating ‘Endtroducing’. No sweat. Soon, he’d recruited Shadow for his own record, and added a galaxy of big names besides: Thom Yorke, Richard Ashcroft, Mike D. The result, UNKLE’s ‘Psyence Fiction’, became a milestone of blunted loopy-hop. Zoom forward to 2007, and UNKLE have relocated nearer to planet rock. A sonic reference might be Death In Vegas’ ‘Scorpio Rising’. But whereas DIV had a sense of character, UNKLE drift towards the world of dance anaemia. There are highlights: Jeff Buckley-doppelganger Gavin Clark puts in two star turns (‘Broken’ and ‘Keys To The Kingdom’), while The Cult’s Ian Astbury puts his gravel-throat to good use. It’s solid enough, but given the imagination they once possessed, it sounds like UNKLE are trying too hard.
Gavin Haynes
Gavin Haynes
Massive Attack join UNKLE inspired exhibition
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