#32

#32. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Multi-Love (#55, 2015)

8th of 2015

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Earlier this year, Radio New Zealand has their own version of the Hottest 100. It was a big voted list of the 100 best songs from their country. You can take a look at the list here if you want. It was pretty interesting to me in the way that I get to experience something akin to being a non-Australian peering into the Hottest 100 without context. I have a totally skewed version of what music matters the most over there that completely differs from the experience of actually living there. Very easy to stereotype things in a way that only highlights the absolute biggest icons that just happen to count, or otherwise just the ones that most outwardly represent what I know about them. So you would expect Lorde and Crowded House/Split Enz to be the main characters just based on that. They do well for sure, but the poll makes it clear that there's so much more in the world of music across the Tasman than we give it credit. They don't even have room to fit Mi-Sex or Flight of the Conchords into the list.

I was going through the list with a Kiwi friend and getting to experience both sides of the coin. It felt like I had flipped my role in the usual conversation where I might be enthusiastically preaching the importance of some forgotten rock band of the 2000s, and instead I'm the one being told that this song I've never even heard of is just an absolute staple known all across North & South Island. They have their own pub sing-alongs in place of your "Khe Sanh" and "Eagle Rock". Songs like "Bliss" by Th' Dudes, an early project by Dave Dobbyn. Or also "Why Does Love Do This To Me" by The Exponents. It's an interesting cultural shock that if nothing else, reminds you that there's so much more to music than the bubble we exist in, and it's worth giving it a go. Massive popularity even in a smaller area is generally proof positive to some more universal appeal in that unexplainable way that we all ascribe significance to a lot of overlapping music.

I used this as an excuse to make a slight dip into that world and explore some more obvious sides. I found myself really enjoying Fat Freddy's Drop's album "Based on a True Story", despite not normally gravitating to the music I've heard from them since. It just taps into a nice, warm feeling and never feels like it's dragging on even when the songs are about 7 minutes long on average. It's really good stuff. I also checked out The Mint Chicks' album "Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!" which seems to pop up in conversation a bit. If you put its popularity into consideration, it's a very peculiar listen. Just a very energetic sound, which I would best compare to Regurgitator though it's not a perfect fit. A very big deal in their home country but relatively unknown elsewhere. The big legacy that remains with The Mint Chicks is that it's a starting chapter in the world of Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

Ruban & Kody Nielson are two members of The Mint Chicks who went on to form Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Technically it was just Ruban on his own initially in 2009, but Kody joined the band in 2013. If you're familiar with both bands, there aren't a lot of commonalities between them musically. Maybe going back to UMO's first single "Ffunny Ffrends", you can scarcely hear a trace of The Mint Chicks' expressive energy, but as the years went on, they'd get mellower in their now distinctive sound. It's interesting to see how well the band ended up doing, because you can imagine a perspective where they're resting on prior laurels, only internationally they didn't count for much. The rest of the world had to be won over just on what they were offering now, and they weren't exactly doing everything they could to stand out. When the second album came out, I really liked "So Good At Being In Trouble", perhaps just beaten down by radio play.

The third album came out a couple of years later titled "Multi-Love" and it was a big one for me. I don't think I'd necessarily rush out to hear one of their albums, but the title track really clicked with me and invited my curiosity. It's one of the most tightly and well-packed albums I know. Just 9 tracks, but not really any I'd consider filler, and most of the songs standing out in their own way. You've got fun and upbeat songs like "Ur Life One Night" and "Can't Keep Checking My Phone", but also big, delayed gratification on "Extreme Wealth and Casual Cruelty" and "Puzzles". I'll admit though that it's so good that the band have fallen into the Neutral Milk Hotel or Death Grips trap for me, where I don't really check out any of their other albums because the one I suspect will always be my favourite is already right in front of me.

As for that title track, "Multi-Love" was immediately something special to me. This isn't me hard launching a polycule or intention for a polycule, though that is what the song is about, struggling with the machinations of it, as well as the apparent gender roles that can be brought on from it. Evidently not my area of specialty. I find regardless though, it's evoked in such a powerful way that escapes the cage of incredibly specific lyricism. If ever was there a song to introduce a concept and make it feel like the most monumental thing going around, a few long drawn out 'muulllllti-looooove's will do it. Otherwise the song is characterised by some plinking keys and surprisingly robust drums that just combine to give it a unique feel. If anything, what drew me into the song the most was this feeling of singularity. I'd never heard anything like this song, and never have since (well, until Heleina Zara released "Boundaries" in 2024 which has a very similar lyric about trashing a heart like a motel'). I guess this is what I mean when I say I like quirky music.