SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA – CURSE

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
CURSE
JAGJAGUWAR

CURSE is the latest offering from the ex-pat New Zealand psychedelic rock band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, based in Portland, Oregon. Containing just six songs and with a running time of about twelve minutes, the band demonstrates more musical variety on this EP than many bands can muster in a full-length album.

The hypnotic minor chord indigenous-style strumming at the top of the first track, “Aura”, morphs into synth-y space rock, and feels like the soundtrack to the apocalypse. This pastiche of weird and jarring sounds gives way to “Boys With The Characteristics of Wolves”, the EP’s radio single. Punctuated by a repeated percussive guitar figure and a mellow, almost folkie vocal, the dynamic builds in intensity. The musical trance is broken by a blues-metal guitar part that leads the refrain, and a heightened urgency in the vocal performance. The song ends as it began, like something that never ends and has always existed. Truly interesting.

A tasty slice of psychedelic funk with a heavy organic groove, “Death Comes From The Sky” is another notable track. Similarly, the Hendrix-meets-Cobain-meets-Sabbath feel of “One Hundred Bats”, follows the established pattern of understated verses and bombastic, explosive choruses, and truly draws the listener in.

Although they did release an album of instrumental work, IC-02 Bogotá, in March of 2025, CURSE is the first release of new songs from Unknown Mortal Orchestra since their album V in 2023. This is a very talented and artful band, and this EP is well worth a spin.

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