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Mar 13, 2013Sounding like it was recorded in a musty shoebox, II nonetheless overflows with tweaky charm.
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Feb 28, 2013The production is minimal, leaving II feeling pure and honest.
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Feb 25, 2013Unknown Mortal Orchestra have crafted a tight, enjoyable sophomore album that solidifies their sound and sets them apart from their peers and musical ancestors.
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Feb 19, 2013[A] frustratingly muted but nevertheless enthralling follow-up.
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Feb 12, 2013Overall, while II is a success, it’s just not quite the great record it should have been.
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Feb 12, 2013II triumphantly bypasses novelty for a more meaningful level of significance: An album whose songs, personality, and band-chemistry come together for something that could well outlast its own current weirdness.
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MagnetFeb 11, 2013Unknown Mortal Orchestra's sophomore effort is marked by a certain familiar mystique that does well to recall the charisma and dazzling psychedelia of its predecessor. [No. 95, p.59]
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Feb 11, 2013With II, UMO remains humble in composition and production, creating an honest album that comforts in the strangest ways.
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Feb 8, 2013While II doesn’t kick around quite the same as its predecessor, it makes up for that with subtleties.
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Feb 5, 2013There’s more consistent musical plasma coursing through the veins of II.
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Feb 5, 2013More often on the album’s 10 tracks than not, Nielson keeps the balance, giving each part equal time in the foreground and using understatement to his advantage.
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Feb 5, 2013From the opening moments of the trippy, lo-fi intro "From the Sun" all the way to the funky-as-a-Hendrix-ballad closer "Secret Xtians," II takes risks and achieves greatness.
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Feb 5, 2013When II is truly on, it's proof that great albums aren't the sole measure of a great band, a subtle advance that puts Unknown Mortal Orchestra right back where they started: something of a mystery, but one that will certainly be interesting going forward.
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Feb 5, 2013The Portland trio make decaying states of consciousness seem like heaven with psychedelic guitar-pop that's alluringly out of focus.
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Feb 5, 2013Far-out, fascinating, fantastic--just plain F-ing good.
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Feb 4, 2013If there are discernible musical differences, it’s that there’s a little more clarity and slightly less reliance on the fuzz pedals.
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Feb 4, 2013Raw melody made Unknown Mortal Orchestra exciting two years ago; now they’ve matched it with attention to detail.
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UncutFeb 4, 2013The scratchy lo-fi production doubles its mystery, resulting in an album of sensual pleasures and magical power. [Mar 2013, p.77]
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Feb 4, 2013The trance-like pace of II serves to reinforce the album rather than weaken it.
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Feb 4, 2013The Portland-based psych-rock outfit’s second album is an absolute triumph.
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Feb 1, 2013Somebody needs to boot Nielson off his why-fi connection: beneath the murk is the work of a riveting craftsman.
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Jan 31, 2013Portland-via-New Zealand psychedelic soul auteur Ruban Nielson returns here with another batch of cozy nuggets.[Jan-Feb 2013, p.90]
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Jan 31, 2013In terms of vulnerability, adrenaline-overdrive and frivolous riffing, however, II is firing on all cylinders.
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Jan 31, 2013There's something about the production that makes this album sound as if it's being beamed in from a faraway planet
User score distribution:
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Positive: 34 out of 39
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Mixed: 3 out of 39
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Negative: 2 out of 39
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Feb 11, 2013
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Jun 10, 2016