Unknown Mortal Orchestra - IC-01 Hanoi

IC-01 Hanoi finds Unknown Mortal Orchestra trading tight songs for loose, open-ended instrumentals, recorded in Vietnam and released in 2018 as the band's first instrumental album.

Ruban Nielson and his band were in Hanoi in 2017 working on what became Sex & Food when the sessions spilled over into free, jazz-leaning improvisation at the city's Phu Sa studio. Kody Nielson plays drums, Jake Portrait handles bass, the brothers' father Chris Nielson adds saxophone, flugelhorn and keyboards, and Minh Nguyen brings traditional Vietnamese instruments, including the dan moi mouth harp.

The tracks are simply numbered. Hanoi 1 is a brief, fragmentary opener, and Hanoi 2 settles into a hazy, hypnotic groove built on wandering guitar and patient drums. Hanoi 6, the longest piece at almost ten minutes, gives the players room to drift and circle, with horns floating over a slow-burning pulse.

It sits somewhere between psychedelic rock, krautrock and adventurous jazz, with Ruban's woozy guitar tone tying it back to the band's familiar sound.

Think of it as a sketchbook from a band at its most curious, loose and unguarded. For fans who love the textures of their songs as much as the hooks, it offers a fascinating side door into their world.