Out of Touch, In the Wild

It's a very fine pop record and a nice suggestion as to the way England's pop scene could be heading. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.99]

They're a throwback to the eighties heyday of playing around with the familiar shapes and sounds of songs whilst still being, well, listenable and accessible.

The fragmented texture of the songs doesn't allow it to slip into bland slickness, but it's clean, theatrical, and kookily conservatorial in a pretty satisfying fashion, if occasionally a little too keen to change tacks within a single song.

It's arty and possibly proggy, but the warmth of Duncan Wallis's voice never lets it get distant. [Feb 2013, p.103]

A warm-hearted lover of an album that is hard to pin down but acquiesces to exploration and will, in a fairly filthy way, leave the listener sated, satisfied and inspired.

Out Of Touch represents a steady evolution of a band, and while you sense they've still not made a truly great album, the Uncles pack a sturdy punch on their most focused album yet.

Out Of Touch may be sophisticated and complex, but it's also damned groovy, hugely heartfelt and packed ti the gunwales with fizzing tunes. [Feb 2013, p.71]

The overall impression remains of a bunch of clever chaps who are able to avoid over-intellectualisation and weave bags of charm and fun into their complex pop songs.

Despite how structurally disciplined it sounds as a whole, their chamber-turned new wave hybrid should suffice for those who couldn’t fathom it from front to back.

Dutch Uncles’ third album is easily the Manchester band’s most accomplished effort to date.

Their songs are odysseys in hooks that never linger anywhere too long, and although a certain blandness sets in later on, the trade of edge for accessibility is fair.

Out Of Touch In The Wild feels like an album album, with the tracks naturally feeling their way to one another, but with enough stand out moments to show how far Dutch Uncles have progressed since they recorded that debut in Germany.

Arguably one of Dutch Uncles’ greatest strengths is that their music never sits still and is devilishly difficult to categorise, thanks to the intricate tapestry of expertly woven threads painstakingly constructed on each song so adroitly that it all fits together perfectly, without any single element being allowed to monopolise the listener’s attention.